


Flames to Smoke

by Felinosis



Category: Fire Emblem Series, Fire Emblem: Fuukasetsugetsu | Fire Emblem: Three Houses, Warriors - Erin Hunter
Genre: Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Alternate Universe - Cats, Alternate Universe - Warriors (Erin Hunter), Canon Rewrite, Canon-Typical Violence, Dark Forest (Warriors), Gen, Male My Unit | Byleth, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, RiverClan (Warriors), ShadowClan (Warriors), StarClan (Warriors), ThunderClan (Warriors), WindClan (Warriors)
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-11-07
Updated: 2020-01-06
Packaged: 2021-01-02 14:28:51
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 3
Words: 21,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/21163157
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Felinosis/pseuds/Felinosis
Summary: "What a ridiculous prophecy. If you ask me, that leader of yours has a head is full of bees!" Searing Sky cried as her tail thumped against the ground."She'd said your name is that of the clans' founder, guided by Starclan." Smoky said plainly."If that is the case, those Starclan cats haven't said a word to me since, and especially not about any silly prophecies!"Smoky had lived as a loner his entire life with little knowledge of the fours clans which inhabit the forest. After a chance encounter, Windclan’s leader gave him no choice but to join her clan’s ranks. Increasingly strange happenings began to occur throughout the forest, and the mysteries of his past would slowly come to light





	1. Sunrise

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> The "Allegiances" section is incomplete for brevity's sake, so it only includes the high ranking cats (minus positions I couldn't find a relevant character for orz) and currently relevant characters
> 
> Also this is mostly just the prologue of the game rewritten IT'LL GET INTERESTING SOON I PROMISE just gotta establish that setting first lol

## ALLEGIANCES

###  **THUNDERCLAN**

**LEADER:** SUNSTAR—golden tabby tom

**DEPUTY:** LIONFROST —long-furred ginger and white tom with blue eyes

** MEDICINE CAT:**PEACHCLAW—Pink and white she-cat with blue-green eyes  
_APPRENTICE, DAWNLIGHT —long-furred cream tabby she-cat_

###### WARRIORS (toms and she-cats without kits)

BEARTOOTH—large dark brown tabby and white tom  
_APPRENTICE, ASHPAW_

FOXBLAZE—long-furred red and white tom

FLINTFANG—black tom with white paws and amber eyes  
_APPRENTICE, FINCHPAW_

LARKWING—cream and white she-cat with green eyes

###### APPRENTICES (more than six moons old, in training to become warriors)

FINCHPAW—orange she-cat with white paws and bobbed tail

ASHPAW—grey speckled tom with white paws

###  **SHADOWCLAN**

**LEADER:** BONESTAR—elderly light grey tom

**DEPUTY:** TALONSHADE —black and red tortoiseshell and white she-cat  
_APPRENTICE, JUMPPAW_

** MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE:** NETTLEPAW—green tabby tom with white paws

###### WARRIORS

BLACKPELT—Solid black tom with yellow eyes

THORNTAIL—long-furred tortoiseshell she-cat  
_APPRENTICE, PIKE_

GOLDENLEAP—long-furred ginger tabby tom  
_APPRENTICE, MOUSEPAW_

###### APPRENTICES

MOUSEPAW—small purple tabby she-cat

JUMPPAW—light blue and white tom

PIKE WHICH SWIMS AT DAWN (PIKE) (Petra)—long-furred spotted magenta she-cat. Formerly a member of the Tribe of Soaring Leaves

###  **RIVERCLAN**

**LEADER:** CLOUDSTAR—large white tom with pink van markings

**DEPUTY:** BUCKSTEP—brown spotted tom with short tail

** MEDICINE CAT APPRENTICE:** DOVEPAW—light blue tabby she-cat

###### WARRIORS

BLOSSOMSCRATCH—large pink long-furred she-cat

POUNCEFOOT—orange and white she-cat

LARGEBELLY—muscular cream tom  
_APPRENTICE, OWLPAW_

PLUMFUR—slender purple and white tom  
_APPRENTICE, NECTARPAW _

###### APPRENTICES

OWLPAW—spotted grey tom with round eyes

NECTARPAW—small solid white she-cat

###  **WINDCLAN**

**LEADER:** DEWSTAR—long-furred green she-cat with white paws

**DEPUTY:** PINETAIL—dark green and white tomt

** MEDICINE CAT:** HERONSONG—white she-cat with light brown splotches  
_APPRENTICE, MINNOWPAW_

###### WARRIORS

BRAVEFLIGHT—long-furred ginger she-cat with blue eyes

CROWSNOUT—grey and black pointed she-cat  
_APPRENTICE, TWIGPAW_

SOOTWHISKER—solid grey tom with long whiskers

GOOSENOSE—brown and white tabby tom with long whiskers

YARROWSTEM—orange and white tom with bobbed tail

FERNLEAF—light brown tabby tom with greyed muzzle

SNOWMASK—cream tabby tom with white face

###### APPRENTICES

TWIGPAW—dark brown tabby tom

MINNOWPAW—light green she-cat with white paws

###  **CATS OUTSIDE CLANS**

WOLF—large cream ticked tabby tom, loner

SMOKY— black ticked tabby tom, loner

* * *

* * *

* * *

_ “Oh my, what could have brought you here?” _

Last Smoky could remember, he’d been asleep. Yet he now stood in a small, dark clearing with a sparkling haze surrounding the area; despite the foreign surroundings, he felt oddly at ease. In the center was a small pool with a large, flat boulder upon which a small cat perched.

"How rude of you to interrupt someone's slumber," she yawned. Her light green fur glittered as if embedded with the stars themselves. She couldn’t be older than a kit, yet she looked down at him with an air of apparent authority. “Let me have a good look at you.” She made no effort to rise from her mossy nest, instead she only turned from her curled position to rest her paws over the edge. Despite being half lidded from sleep, her gaze was painfully judgemental.

Smoky wordlessly stepped forward. While many questions formed in his mind, he felt that she’d grant him no answers. His ears still perked forward in wait of the chance to ask.

“Hmmm…” her whiskers twitched. “Neither your face or scent are familiar to me.” She cocked her head. “Who are you?”

“I’m a loner,” his monotonous meow echoed. 

“I see...” she dragged, either in thought or suspicion, “then you must have a name as well.”

“It’s Smoky.”

“Smoky?” she chuckled. “Fitting, I suppose. I don’t think I’ll ever get used to the names of cats outside the clans. Ah, this all seems so oddly familiar… but my disturbed nap... is more pressing at the moment,” she yawned before resting her chin on her forelegs and closing her eyes.

His consciousness started to fade in time with hers. He fought to keep his eyes open, desperate for an explanation, but was denied the ability by the onset of sleep.

Her voice was muffled as she mumbled against her fur.“It is almost...time to...begin….”

With those last few words, Smoky fell asleep once more.

* * *

Smoky stirred as something prodded his side.

“Hey. Time to get up.”

He muttered an acknowledgement, recognizing the gruff meow as his fathers even in his drowsy state. Eyes squinting, he stared at the large pale paws in front of him for a moment before getting up.

“Did you have that dream again? You were twitching in your sleep.”

“Of the young cat?” Smoky arched his back, shaking off the last remnants of sleep. Although he had had similar dreams several times before, never had he heard her speak until now.

“You told me about her before, but I don’t remember anyone like that.” He shaked his head. Wolf had met a good number of cats throughout his lifetime, but none that matched the specific description of the cat in his son’s recurrent dream. “Regardless, best to forget about it for now. Letting your mind wander during a battle is a sure way to get yourself killed.”

He turned to leave the bramble they’d hid in, but paused when Smoky stared at him blankly. “Don’t tell me you forgot….”

Although the two of them had typically made sure to stay away from the clans’ territories, it had soon become the only option left. Times had become desperate. Greenleaf brought none of the rains it should, and both plants and prey had suffered for it. They had always preferred to be on their own, but their struggles had driven them to band with a few other loners. As the accepted head of their small group, Wolf took care of all their administrative decisions. Smoky never made any attempts to interact with the other cats or remember their plans, relying on his father to do all that.

“I’d told you last night: I’ve heard promising things about the prey near Thunderclan’s border. If we leave now, I’m sure we won’t encounter any patrols by the time we get there.”

“Wolf!” One of the loners, whose name Smoky can’t be bothered to recall, cried from outside. “We have trouble!”

“What is it?” Wolf pushed outside. His whiskers twitched in annoyance, certain he would find out they had been making a big deal out of nothing. Smoky obediently followed behind.

They were guided over to a trio of strangers standing in wait. Smoky’s eyes first went to the largest of them: a ginger and white tom with long, perfectly groomed fur. To the right was a brown spotted tom with scruffy fur and a short tail. The last cat to the left was a calico she-cat. He noted that they’re rather young, around the same age as himself, and their fur was far more well-kept than most loners he’d met. For a moment he wondered if they’re kittypets, but doubts they would be this deep within the forest if it were the case.

“What do you want?” Wolf asked with disinterest, hoping to speed to the part where he told them_ no _.

“Please forgive our intrusion,” the largest of the three meowed as he bowed in submission, “but I assure you we wouldn’t be here if our situation wasn’t dire. We’re being pursued by a band of rogues, and would appreciate it greatly if you’d lend us your paws.”

“Rogues? This close to Windclan's borders?” Wolf scoffed, none too pleased with the tom’s wordiness.

“It’s true.” The sole she-cat responded instead. “They ambushed us while we slept.”

The third cat shook his head. “We’re separated from our clanmates and outnumbered. They’re after our lives.”

“I’m impressed you’re all staying so calm,” Wolf remarked. “Wait,” his nose twitches as he sniffs them. “Your scents—”

“There’s rogues headed right this way!” Another one of Wolf’s companions frantically yowled as he ran up, interrupting whatever Wolf was going to say. “And there’s a lot of them!”

“Guess they followed you here,” Wolf sighed. “We can’t ignore them now. Let’s move.”

* * *

“Let’s take care of them before they breach the borders,” Wolf ordered.

Smoky squinted as he searched the tall grasses that fill the fields just outside Windclan’s territory, rigid and swaying back into place as he pushed through. He smelled the closest rogue before he saw them; the wind blew towards him instead of carrying their scent in the enemy's direction. He prepared to attack as soon as he saw fur between the blades, but both of them were stunned by a horrific yowl. The ginger tom from before leapt out from behind and slammed his paws on the rogue’s head. The cry was so raw and savage that he had trouble believing it came from a cat, much less the deferential tom he'd just met.

Smoky was not one to get distracted during battle, yet he hadn’t noticed the cat was behind him. Not allowing himself to slack any more than he already had, he lunged at the opposing cat’s hind legs. Fangs sunk into their ankle and he pulled them onto their side.

The ginger tom wasted no time in grabbing the rogue's scruff and slamming them onto the ground. He crouched while the opposing cat weakly got to their paws. The rogue stared and assessed the situation before deciding it was in their best interest to withdraw.

_ Why didn't he kill them? _ Smoky wanted to ask, but two more rogues appeared before he could. They both went after a different cat. Smoky reared up and launched himself onto the rogue closest to him, and the opposing cat did so as well so that their paws were at each other's shoulders. Knowing they would use their weight to their advantage and flip him over, Smoky was prepared to rake his hind claws against their belly as they did just that. Their momentary shock from the unexpected attack gave him the chance to dig his fangs into their forelegs.

The cat recovered more quickly than Smoky had expected, grabbing him by the scruff as they tore him off. They swiped at his face, and he pulled back just enough for the claws to only scrape his nose; he had already begun to feel the blood swelling on his skin. He shook his head and jumped to the side. When the rogue expected him to slide underneath and go for their stomach, he quickly changed direction and lunged up at the back of their neck. They howled and flailed feebly when he jumped on their back and bit into their neck. He knew how easy it would be to bite a bit more forward and tear through their throat, but the ginger tom's previous act of mercy caused him to reconsider. Instead, he bit harder and harder until the cat went slack under him before he violently tore their fur away as he jumped off. They stared at him in shock, soon coming to their senses and running away.

Only a moment later did a tumbling pair of cats roll through the grass, and Smoky recognized one of them as the other tom from earlier. He crouched to attack, but the short-tailed tom pulled away from the enemy and gracefully bounced onto Smoky’s shoulders. He stood up and the tom jumped off at the same time, using the height and momentum to land on the rogue's shoulders and slammed their head into the ground with his back paws. Smoky rushed to grab their tail and pulled, dragging the cat’s head through the dirt.

The short-tailed tom jumped off at an angle to push the rogue onto their back and swiftly turned to swipe at their stomach. When they attempted to claw at him, he shoved their foreleg away with a deft kick. He was taken by surprise when the cat rolled over in the opposite direction. Before he could react, they took off without looking back.

"Thanks for that," he said to Smoky. Although out of breath, his tone was oddly enthusiastic. Smoky nodded in response, and they both took off in different directions. He heard hissing and growling nearby, causing him to run in the sound’s direction. His head erupted from the tall grass, and in the adjacent clearing was the she-cat from earlier, back pressed up defensively against a tree as a large cat stalked in her direction. Before Smoky could even think, the rogue charged forward and grabbed her by the neck. Her small body was no match for their brute strength, and blood begun to stain the white fur of her neck. She cried out as her limp body wass mercilessly shoved up against the tree trunk.

_ Well? _

A familiar voice rang in his head.

_ Are you just going to stand and watch? _

—and then, Smoky opened his eyes.

He hadn't even realized they'd been closed. He'd just seen the she-cat bleed out in the rogue’s jaws, yet both cats were in the positions they'd been just prior…

He ran forward, right in front of the calico without even thinking. He raised the front of his body and swiveled on his right hindfoot to intercept the other cat. He pulled his forelimbs from their shoulders and dug his fangs into their throat without a hint of hesitation. He barely felt the claws tearing at his skin and pulling out chunks of fur; the only thing on his mind was choking the cat between his teeth. The enemy grew weaker, and he was able to push them onto their back and put all his strength into biting down. Blood filled his mouth to the point it was hard to breathe, but doesn't relent until the cat went completely slack. He stared for a moment longer until he was certain they wouldn’t rise again.

“Hey! Over here!” The short-tailed tom ran over, large ginger tom in tow. The calico looked between them and Smoky, smiling slightly when she stared at the ticked tabby. If not for her disheveled fur, it’d be impossible to guess she had just watched a cat be murdered right in front of her.

Wolf emerged from the grass and joined them. “Hey,” he started, a question on the tip of his tongue. “Did you just—”

“Damned rogues! We’ll tear you down for terrorizing Windclan’s warriors!” A yowl cut through the air. The silhouette of a large cat appeared over the horizon, sided by two others. “Hey, they’re trying to escape! After them!” He commanded. They immediately took off after the rogues fleeing from the scene. He rushed down over to where Wolf and the rest were gathered.

“Hmmm, seems our cats are unharmed,” he mused. The muscular tom’s gaze moved over to Wolf. “And who’s this?” He meowed with amusement.

“Of all the cats in the forest, it _ had _ to be him…” Wolf quietly groaned.

“Wolfheart! I can’t believe it...how many moons have passed since you went missing? But I knew a cat like you wouldn’t die so easily!” His enthusiasm faded a bit as Wolf’s ears folded to the side. “Don’t you remember me? It’s Goosenose! Your old apprentice!”

“Just as loud as ever, I see.” He sighed. ”And it’s just ‘Wolf’. I’m not a clan cat anymore.” He turned, flicking his tail dismissively. “I’m a loner now, one that has stomachs to fill. Goodbye, old friend.”

“Right,” Goosenose bowed. “Goodbye, Wolfheart...Wait!” He jumped over and blocked Wolf’s path. “This isn’t how it ends! I _ insist _ that you come back to camp with me.”

“Ugh... I guess this would happen sooner or later.” He shook his head in resignation.

“And how about you?” He turned to Smoky. “Are you Wolfheart’s kit?”

“I’m a rogue,” he growled, baring his teeth in fake aggression.

“Oh, this one’s got a sense of humor!”

“Don’t encourage him,” Wolf’s whiskers twitched.

“Differences aside, I can see the similarities,” Goosenose remarked. “Of course, you’re welcome as well. How about it?”

Smoky nodded. Wolf sighed again, a bit louder.

“What’s troubling you? You’re not about to run off again, are you?”

“I know better than to try and outrun a Windclan cat.” Knowing he had no choice, Wolf trotted alongside the other cat, reluctantly subjecting himself to Goosenose’s smalltalk. The other cats followed, leaving Smoky alone.

_ Hmmm, they do seem rather skilled. _

The voice in Smoky’s head spoke again, and he couldn’t suppress the jolt of surprise it elicited. He looked around for the source, but saw no one else.

_ Oh, looks like they’re waiting for you. Get going! _

His whiskers twitched at the nagging tone, but accepted that it was true. He rushed to catch up with the other cats, trying to recall where he’d heard that voice before….

* * *

“Thank you for the help,” the sole she-cat purred as they fell into line together. The two other cats walked nearby, listening in. “You’re clearly a skilled fighter. And you’re the son of Wolf? Former member of Windclan, and often regarded as one of the strongest warriors to ever live? Have I missed anything?” She looked at him expectantly, not giving him any time to think about the answers to the large number of questions she had bombarded him with.

Smoky stared back, surprised with the calico’s words. “I never knew he used to be a clan cat.”

“Interesting,” she meowed distantly. “I’m sure the explanation for that is a fascinating one.”

“Hey!” The brown tom hopped to Smoky’s other side, saving him from any more of the she-cat’s scrutiny. “You’re coming back to camp with us, right?” He continued without desiring an answer. “Of course you are. I’d love to talk as we head back. Oh yeah, I should mention the three of us aren’t actually Windclan cats. With this awful drought and all that, Dewstar offered to take care of the other clan’s apprentices and young warriors so the other clans could focus on taking care of their elders and kits for a few moons, although they also sent the deputies to watch over everything. Windclan’s the smallest clan so they’ve got room to spare, plus they’ve got a history of helping out other cats and maintaining peace between the clans.

...Anyways, we were patrolling the border between Windclan and Riverclan’s territory when those rogues hunting on our territory attacked us. I definitely got the worst of it, though.”

“Because you ran away!” The she-cat hissed.

“True!” He purred dismissively. “I knew it was going to get ugly, so I was the first to make a strategic retreat. And it would have been fine if these two hadn’t followed.” He flicked his tail towards the offending cats despite its short length rendering the act useless. “Because of them, the rogues chased after us and ruined everything,” he sighs. “What a pain.”

“So that’s what you’d been thinking, Buckstep?” The ginger tom growled. “I thought you were acting as a decoy for our sakes.”

“His intentions were obvious,” the she-cat responded. “If you can’t see the truth behind a cat’s words, you’ll make a poor leader.”

“And you’ll make a poor leader yourself if you always assume the worst of everyone, especially your own allies.”

Smoky fell back, allowing them to talk without being in their way. He was certain they had all forget about him at this point. They held positions of power, that much was clear, but nothing more. He only heard one of their names and none of their allegiances, making it near impossible for him to follow the conversation. 

“Oh, what an engaging debate between these deputies. Wonder how well their clans will fare with such completely predictable leaders. And...” he winked, "as the embodiment of distrust, your whole conversation reeks of naiveté."

"Me?! Naive?" The she-cat stopped to shove her face near his. "Are you incapable of being quiet, or do you simply lack any sense of self-awareness?" 

"Ah, forgive our imprudence," the ginger and white tom interrupted, finally acknowledging Smoky again. "If you have a moment, I'd like to talk to you."

“Mmm?” Smoky cocked his head.

“The way you fought was incredible!” His tail stuck up, and his voice was a stark contrast to his previous formal tone. “How you so skillfully used your size to your advantage and faked out the enemy, it all shows that I still have much to learn.”

“Which is exactly why you should lend your skill to my clan. I am not just any warrior: I am Shadowclan’s—”

“Please, Talonshade, allow me to finish speaking first.”

She glared at him, but remained silent.

“My name is Lionfrost, Thunderclan’s deputy, and we’re in desperate need for cats such as yourself. After this is over, please consider coming to my clan with me.”

“Woah, you guys sure are hasty. We invite him to camp for a meal and a place to rest for the night, and you two assume he’s here to stay,” Buckstep, the short-tailed tom, laughed. “Personally, I was planning on getting to know our friend here before begging him for favors, but it seems there’s no time for that. Sooo...” his ears perked, “if you had to choose, which one of us would you pick?”

Smoky looked them over. He wasn’t sure of how seriously they were about this, and knew Wolf would not allow him to go through with his choice anyways. His tail twitched in thought as he tried to think of a fitting response.

“Alright, we’re almost to camp!” Goosenose called back, interrupting them.

“Seems we’ll have to pick this up another time,” Buckstep sighed before walking ahead.

_ They’re all in such a hurry. _

The voice in Smoky’s head started again; he wasn’t as surprised by it this time. He remembered now, the voice of that cat in his dream. Confusing as it was, he had already gotten somewhat used to having the strange she-cat converse from within him.

_ All three are quite unique, I must say. _

Smoky went over each of them in his head. Talonshade was deputy of Shadowclan. She’s certainly confident in herself and wasn’t afraid to express it. She seemed to constantly be evaluating others, as if deciding they’re worthy of her time.

Lionfrost was the deputy of Thunderclan. Polite and honest, but Smoky couldn’t forget how savage he’d been in battle. Despite how he held himself, there’s something foreboding about him...

He assumed Buckstep is a deputy as well, and Riverclan was the only clan left. He appeared to be the most easy-going of the three, but his smug aura made him less than approachable.

_ Hmmm I’d thought as well. All of this excitement has made me quite tired… _

Her voice faded to a yawn before going silent once more.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> If there's any mistakes etc please point them out I proofread it but if there's still any fucky wuckies left let me know so I can fix them


	2. Clan Life

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> One of my fave things ab Byleth is how they never experienced actual emotions before Sothis showed up so I like the concept of them starting out as being socially awkward af due to that and also doing mercenary work since they were in diapers and slowly learning how to act like an actual normal human being lol
> 
> Also I realized this fic sounded rlly awkward being in present tense so it's in past tense from now on, and I revised the previous chapter to be in past tense as well

Smoky stayed close to Wolf’s side as they walked into camp, hoping any cat that attempted to talk to them would address his father first. The path was well trampled, leading into a series of rocky pits connected by ravines. A large arch loomed over the entrance, overlooking the entire camp. Wolf paused to look up, and Smoky's gaze followed. Peering down from atop was a green cat; Smoky’s eyes met theirs, and the two of them maintained their gazes until his father grunted and goaded him on by flicking his tail against his shoulders, continuing into a large, open clearing. Goosenose looked back to make sure they were still following before he trotted up an incline towards a small grotto on the right side of the arch. The tom stopped right outside and smiled when the pair continued inside.

“So many seasons have passed since I’ve last been here,” Wolf muttered distantly, “and to see her again after all this time…”

“Her?” Smoky cocked his head.

“I know I’ve never told you about my time as a Windclan warrior,” he looked around, the familiar scene causing old memories to resurface. “Dewstar is the leader here. Windclan’s not like the other clans: they don’t care about expanding their territory, they’ve dedicated themselves to maintaining peace throughout the forest, and love to take in other cats. In fact, most of the cats here aren’t Windclan-born.

They used to be a typical clan before Dewstar became leader. Having the smallest territory and being in the dead center of the forest made them an easy target whenever prey was scarce. Apparently Starclan delivered a prophecy telling her that the only way for Windclan to survive was to mediate between the clans. She’s been leader as long as I can remember.”

“Thank you for your patience, Wolf,” a stern meow interrupted them.

Their heads jerked towards the pair of cats entering the small cave. The one addressing them was a thick-furred green and white tom with stripes like intertwined evergreen branches. Next to him was a regal light green she-cat with white paws who Smoky assumed was Dewstar.

“I am Pinetail, deputy of Windclan.” His eyes looked over the loners, seemingly unimpressed with what he saw.

“Right. Hello.” Wolf meowed plainly, words tinged with the slightest bit of courtesy.

“It’s been a while, hasn’t it, Wolf?” Dewstar sat and curled her tail politely over her paws. “Is it Starclan that has brought us back together?”

“Perhaps,” he passively agreed. “A lot has happened since I left.”

“So I see,” she nodded towards Smoky. “This is your kit, I take it?”

“Yes, he’d been born some time after I’d left. I wish I could introduce you to my mate, but she was lost to blackcough many moons ago.”

“My condolences,” she whispered apologetically, closing her eyes in mourning. She opened them after a moment. “Goosenose told me of your valiant efforts. What is your name?”

Smoky looked between her and Wolf before he finally opened his mouth. “My name is Smoky.”

“A fitting name,” she purred. “I am truly grateful for your help saving our cats.”

Wolf grunted, looking away and flicking his ears in annoyance. He knew her intentions, so what was the point in flattering them if they couldn’t disobey her in the first place?

“Wolf,” she addressed him again, “you already know what I’m going to ask, do you not?”

“You want us to join Windclan. I won’t say no, but…” he trailed off, knowing trying to object was futile.

“Your hesitance hurts. I’d thought Goosenouse would have already asked you.” Her ears folded back. She was disappointed but not surprised that her old warrior did not jump at the choice to rejoin. “I do not have much more to say at the moment, but please do not hesitate to make yourself at home. Please do consider it, at least,” she offered as if the decision hadn’t already been made. “Farwell, until tomorrow." She bowed her head. "May Starclan light your path." Dewstar patiently sat as Wolf and Smoky exited the way they'd come.

They continued into the clearing directly behind the arch. Finally free of her presence, Wolf let out a loud sigh. “Can’t believe I’m being forced back into Windclan… Sorry about dragging you into this. I’m sure they’ll want your help as well.”

“What do you mean ‘my help’?” Smoky’s tail curled.

“Hunting, guarding the borders, stuff like that. With all these young cats around, they’ll probably want you to train some of them.”

A slender white she-cat with brown patches strode over from deeper inside the camp, tail held high. She engaged them with seemingly no care that the two of them had been in the middle of a conversation. “Ah, so you’re our new cat. How rugged and handsome you are!”

“Ah, no, I’m not the one you’re looking for. You can handle it from here. Good luck.” Wolf turned away, leaving his son with a few more words. “I have no idea what Dewstar’s thinking, wanting you to join her clan like this, so stay on your guard.” He glanced around suspiciously before he walked away.

“So you’re the new one. You’re rather young…” the she-cat hummed, not giving any attention to Wolf’s absence.

A lean grey tom followed from behind, sitting next to her. “Age and skill aren’t always correlated, you know.” He turned to Smoky. “My name is Sootwhisker, a senior warrior here.”

“And I’m Heronsong, the medicine cat,” the she-cat added. “Nice to meet you. If you ever feel under the weather, please don’t hesitate to visit me.” She supplemented the last bit with a purr.

“Please spare our new clanmate the needless chatter,” Sootwhisker scolded her in a way which made it obvious it was nothing out of the ordinary for them. “Anyways, please make yourself acquainted with the other cats for now. Dewstar will give you further instructions tomorrow.”

Smoky simply nodded, unsure of what to say in response. They didn't seem to be paying attention to him anymore anyways, as Sootwhisker growled at Heronsong over something Smoky had apparently missed. Lacking any desire to talk to them anymore, he snuck away to investigate the rest of the camp.

* * *

Not knowing where to start, Smoky decided the best course of action was to seek out the three cats he already knew. Although he didn't necessarily hold the Shadowclan deputy in poor regard, he hoped that he would encounter either of the toms first. The last thing he wanted was to have her interrogate him right now. He settled on simply going through the camp and investigating whatever he encountered along the way.

About a fox-length past the clearing was a short path defined by thick, dry shrubs with an opening through them, and he squeezed through. At the other end was a hollow filled with large, dead branches intertwined and held together with thick ivy along the walls of a sandy clearing which was decorated with small plants and shrubs near the edges. Scaling and snaking through the branches were three cats, none of whom Smoky had seen before. A small orange she-cat with a short tail and white paws pounced at a slender black tom below her; he dashed forward before she could land on his back. She bit his tail on the way down, causing him to yelp as they both fell to the ground. A pale she-cat on one of the higher branches laughed as he indignantly shook the sand from his fur.

"We're honing your accuracy, not… whatever you just did," he growled, but lacking any real bite.

"But if I missed in a real fight, wouldn't it be better to do that?" She retorted. Smoky couldn't tell if she was being patronizing or asking in all seriousness.

The other she-cat gracefully leapt down. "Just admit you're embarrassed because we heard you squeak like a mouse."

"Why would I be embarrassed in front of either of you?" When he growled at her, there was an obvious anger to it.

"I'm more referring to…" She pointed her tail towards Smoky.

"What—" He fell onto his hind legs in shock as he turned and saw the unexpected onlooker. "Who are you?"

"Smoky."

"Smoky?" he scoffed. "What are you, a kittypet?"

"No, I'm a loner." Smoky's voice lacked any acknowledgement of the insult.

"Oh," the orange cat stood on the tips of her paws, "are you one of the new cats everyone’s been talking about?"

"Oh yeah, Goosenose ran through the entire camp telling everyone we're getting new warriors." The cream colored she-cat’s tail wagged in interest.

"You've got to be kidding me. You haven't even been here, what, since sunrise? And she's already made you a warrior?" The black cat sneered as he circled Smoky. "Why don't you have a warrior name, then?"

"Warrior name?" Smoky blinked. He thought the clans have unusual naming conventions, but knew nothing else about them.

"Are you mouse-brained? Your warrior name, the name you get when you become a warrior."

"Why would I get a new name? There's nothing wrong with my current one."

The black tom stared at him with an incredulous glare.

The pale she-cat sighed. "He's obviously new around here, give him a break." She shoved the black tom aside. "I'm Larkwing, but the way."

"I'm Finchpaw!" the orange she-cat's bobbed tail stuck up as high as it could. "He's Flintfang, my mentor." Flintfang stepped between the two other cats, annoyed at being denied the chance to introduce himself on top of everything.

"We're from Thunderclan, if that means anything to you." Larkwing added.

"Like Lionfrost," Smoky thought out loud.

Flintfang grunted and folded his ears flat against his head. "Unfortunately, yes."

"Flintfang," Larkwing warned, stopping him from continuing.

"If you want, we could show you around!" Finchpaw's eyes went wide in excitement.

Flintfang interjected before Smoky had the chance to respond. "Absolutely not. We're busy. None of us are leaving the Training Grounds until I'm satisfied." He walked over to the center of the clearing, urging her over with his tail.

"I'm fine on my own," Smoky agreed. Although it'd ease some of his nerves to have another cat give him a tour, he didn't particularly want to spend any more time with Flintfang nor risk doing anything to agitate the black cat further.

"Are you sure?" Finchpaw asked. "He acts mean, but he's all meow and no bite. Well…mostly no bite."

"Excuse me? Ask anyone and they'll tell you I'm one of the fiercest warriors in this camp."

"Maybe the rudest warrior…" Larkwing muttered before licking one of her paws.

"Larkwing! Get over here,  _ now _ ." Flintfang hissed, arching his back.

She looked back at Smoky apologetically. "I'm sorry, I'm sure you'll be able to find someone else to show you around."

"Hurry up!"

Larkwing huffed. In a single move, she bounded over andlunged for Flintfang before faking him out and landing right in front of him. She jumped as soon as her hind legs hit the ground and climbed onto the branch above him. He growled and immediately chased after her. Smoky watched for a bit, transfixed just as Finchpaw was, before leaving.

Sharing tongues on a flat rock some ways outside were two cats Smoky was sure weren't there before. He realized that one of them was Buckstep; their eyes met, and the Riverclan cat looked back expectantly.

"So you did decide to join our clan. I was sure you would, but you never know." He smiled. "Well, it's not  _ our _ clan, per se, but close enough."

"I didn't have much of a say in the matter," Smoky explained, although Buckstep didn’t seem too bothered by the revelation.

"Guess I'll have to keep things interesting to make up for it."

"I hope that doesn't involve ignoring me," the large pink she-cat who lounged beside him meowed. She slapped a paw onto his muzzle and he lifted his chin to force it off.

"Of course not," he assured her. His gaze turned back to Smoky, and hers followed. "This is Blossomscratch." She slowly wagged her tail in acknowledgement.

"Nice to meet you. Another warrior means less work for me to do." She yawned and laid her head on his stomach.

"Oh yeah, she's also the laziest cat ever." He laughed as she swatted his face.

"No way, there are lazier cats."

"If you're not lazy, then come show him around camp with me."

"I said I'm not the laziest. I never said I wasn't lazy." She rolled over, exposing her stomach to the sky.

"It's fine," Smoky assured him. Although being led around by Buckstep seemed appealing, he realized it would also involve the tom getting others to talk to him as well. He had spoken to more cats in the past day than he had in the past half-moon. Being a good conversationalist had never been necessary before, as he usually relied on his claws to do the talking. Learning how to get along with everyone would undoubtedly be the most daunting task.

“Are you sure?” Buckstep addressed Smoky again. “I’m more than willing to ditch this boring furball.”

Blossomscratch reached up and pulled Buckstep by his neck to drag him down to her stomach, kicking at his head.

“Hey—HEY!” He wrangled out of her grasp and jumped away. “What was that?”

“That’s what you get for insulting me!” She rolled onto her paws and crouched, although she still didn't seem to actually be getting up.

“I don’t attack  _ you _ for insulting me! But anyways...” he jumped to the ground, “If Smoky isn’t going to accept my offer for a grand tour, we might as well go ask Crowsnout about that hunting patrol she’d mentioned.”

Blossomscratch leaned over the edge, tail thumping against the stone in annoyance. “What do you mean ‘we’? Are you expecting me to come along too?”

“You’re gonna have to hunt sooner or later. If I’m with you, then I can give you some of my haul to make it seem like you’re actually helping."

"I guess…" Blossomscratch sighed. She jumped off and landed next to Smoky with a  _ thud _ . "And also, pretend you didn't hear any of that, alright?"

"I don't have anyone to tell, anyways."

“Mmm.” She nodded, satisfied, before turning to follow Buckstep.

Smoky may not have known exactly what sort of virtues a deputy was expected to have, but he assumed honesty and diligence were some of them. Perhaps altruism as well, although he wasn't sure it applied when Blossomscratch was a perfectly capable cat on her own. At the very least, he knew what virtues loners valued and  _ not putting your nose where it doesn't belong  _ was certainly one of them. 

There were plenty of other places to explore, but Smoky had begun to feel intimidated by it all. Part of him wished Wolf was there to do the talking for him, but another felt embarrassed at the thought of crying out for his father like a scared kit. Wait, embarrassment? When had he  _ ever _ felt embarrassed before?

_ " _ ** _I'd_ ** _ feel embarrassed!" _ The voice called out from inside his mind.

"Why?" He asked out loud before realizing he has no reason to. A quick glance around assured him that no one was around to hear his meow.

_ "We share the same body now. Do you have any idea how cringeworthy your social skills are? If I was able to, I am certain I would keel over and die from embarrassment." _

Her whines caused his ears to fold in guilt. He hadn't the slightest idea who she was or what she was doing in his mind, and the sudden presence of emotions he had never experienced before were the most unwelcome. He didn't even know her name!

_ "Well…I don't know my name either." _ Her meow sounded defeated. He hadn't even been addressing her, so how did she hear him?

_ "I hear all of your thoughts. Don't be so shocked, it's not like there's much going around in here anyways." _

Smoky decided there was no winning response, instead turning his attention back to the camp so he could decide in which direction he should go next. A series of mildly intricate openings lined the same side of camp the training grounds had been, and he stuck his head in the closest entrance. The inside consisted of numerous shallow depressions lined with moss and lichen, and it didn't take much thought to figure out it was for sleeping. It smelled similar to Talonshade, so he guessed the den was reserved for the Shadowclan cats. He pulled his head out and forwent the other entrances, assuming they all led to more sleeping dens.

The next item of interest was a den near the back nestled next to a glistening pool of water. Although the den was small, he thought it was rather cozy. He first noted how it smelled strongly of various plants and herbs. It wasn't  _ that _ awful, but it sure wasn’t pleasant. A dark green cat curled up on a nearby nest of moss. His ears twitched as Smoky walked in, but the only other action he took was opening one of his eyes halfway. They stared at each other for a moment before he closed it again and tucked his muzzle underneath his hind legs.

"Nettlepaw!" a high voice called out from deeper within the den. A small she-cat, similar in color to Dewstar, stomped to the front. "Why are you sleeping when another cat is here?"

"Oh? I didn't notice," he lied. Or perhaps he'd actually been too tired to acknowledge Smoky.

"Are you a cat or a dormouse?" She turned to Smoky. "Anyways, I'm Minnowpaw, and I'm Heronsong's apprentice. Nettlepaw is Shadowclan's medicine cat apprentice."

"Hello," he meowed passively. Minnowpaw stared at him until he got up to sit.

"You are the new warrior, correct?" She asked.

_ "Word travels quickly here, it seems," _ the voice in his head remarked. Smoky mentally agreed.

"Yes. I was checking to see what this den was." He stated, hoping she'd let him go without forcing any smalltalk.

"I see. This is the medicine den; I am sure you've figured that out already. Other than Nettlepaw, Heronsong, and I, there is Dovepaw and Dawnlight. Dovepaw is Riverclan's medicine cat apprentice and Dawnlight is Thunderclan’s second medicine cat. They are undoubtedly eager to meet you as well, but unfortunately they are out at the moment."

"I'll meet them eventually," Smoky assured her. "If that's it, I'll go explore the rest of the camp now."

"Hm?" Minnowpaw was taken aback by his bluntness. "That is fine, I guess. Do not hesitate to visit our den should you ever find the need to."

"Heronsong told me the same thing."

"Alright, then. Um, it was nice to meet you." Minnowpaw said with as much courtesy as she could muster.

Smoky wordlessly turned around and left, glad his nose was no longer being assaulted by the cacophony of smells. Behind him, he heard Nettlepaw cry, "You made me get up for  _ that _ ?"

The voice inside his head groaned.  _ "Perhaps you should have lied and said you were mute! Then neither of us would have to suffer through these conversations of yours, if I could even call them that!" _

_ "That's why I left quickly: I didn't want to talk more than necessary." _

_ "And you couldn't figure out how to do so in a more graceful manner?" _

_ "Why? I accomplished what I needed to." _

_ "You haven't the slightest idea how hard all of this is to watch, ugh," _ she groaned again. _ "Well, stop standing around! I'd like to get all this over with as fast as possible." _

Smoky may not have understood her gripes, but he knew better than to continue questioning her.

Now that he was outside again, Smoky took another look at the pool. A low, clifflike structure protruded from the middle of the water’s edge. It was too tall to drink from, but he could easily reach into the water from atop it. The water was deeper than it seemed from far away and he could slightly make out where the spring forced water up into the well. A small number of tiny fish swam around, diving deeper when his shadow cast over them.

He then realized that he couldn't remember the last time he'd drank anything. He went to the shorter edge and lapped at the water. When a fish neared the bank, his paw instinctively lashed out and grasped the animal between his claws. He yanked it up to his mouth and turned around so his head was over the ground, biting into it until his prey stopped moving. When was the last time he'd eaten, either? He scarfed down the fish without thinking twice.

“What do you think you’re doing?” A stringent voice demanded.

Smoky looked up to see Pinetail scowling. He severed the fish and chewed what was in his mouth while the tail end plopped to the ground. “I’m eating,” he mumbled as he swallowed. Pinetail grimaced even harder.

“I don’t suppose that father of yours ever taught you the Warrior Code?” he rhetorically questioned, receiving an empty gaze in reply. “Yes, of course not; I assumed such. I would have hoped he’d taught you basic manners at the very least, but it seems that is also too much to ask for.”

“You never know when another cat is waiting around for the chance to steal your prey.” He supplemented his response by picking up the rest of his meal and swallowing it in one gulp.

Pinetail’s jaw dropped; the crude act had rendered him momentarily speechless. “Are you taunting me!?”

“Of course not,” Smoky plainly stated. He licked the residue off his lips before he brought his paw to his mouth and began cleaning the smell of fish and water off his fur.

The deputy so desperately wanted to reprimand the other cat, but refrained due to the absolute honesty in Smoky’s voice. “The Warrior Code states that warriors and apprentices may only eat after the queens, kits, and elders have, although our clan lacks any of those at the time being. Most important, however, is that a warrior is not allowed to eat until they have hunted for the rest of the clan.” He attempted to keep his indignation from his tone, but was unable to completely stop it from slipping in.

“Alright,” Smoky accepted. An irritated  _ “Mm hmm?” _ rang in his head, urging him to continue. “I’m...sorry for eating that fish. I won’t do it again.”

Pinetail sighed. As much as Smoky vexed him, he couldn’t bring himself to blame a cat with such an almost kit-like innocence. It was Dewstar’s fault for accepting the young tom so quickly. He _ would _ admit that based on the few interactions they’d had, he didn’t trust Smoky in the slightest. “Do not forget that starting tomorrow, you will be expected to contribute to the clan and act as a respectable warrior.” With those final words, Pinetail left.

Smoky cleaned himself for a bit longer before returning to his task. It seemed he’d investigated all there was to see on the left side of the camp. On the right side past the pool were more openings. He made his way to the closest one and stuck his head inside.

That den was smaller than the others, and was also deeper into the wall. The thick shrubs at the entrance made it difficult to go in and out. There were more nests, but the smell of many different clans emanated from them. There wasn’t much to look at, so he backed out after only a few moments. There was only one other entrance nearby, so he went to that one next.

It was another den for sleeping, and it smelled overwhelmingly of Windclan’s scent. The only cat inside was a light brown tom that walked with a slight unsteadiness as he rolled the hard, flat moss lining the nests into a ball and replaced it with fresh moss. His muzzle was greyed and his fur was unkempt in a way which suggested he struggled to groom himself properly. It took a while before he noticed Smoky’s presence. It all struck Smoky as being odd considering Pinetail had told him that the clan lacked any elders.

“Oh, my apologies,” the cat apologized. “My name is Fernleaf.”

“Are you a warrior? You look too old to be a warrior.” He quickly realized he should have introduced himself first. “My name is Smoky, by the way.”

“Nice to meet you,” he hummed. “And yes, I am. Dewstar insists that I retire already, but I’m not quite ready to do so yet. I can still hunt and collect herbs, so I’m not out of uses yet,” he said with a laugh. 

“Right. Anyways, what den is this? I thought the ones on the other side of the camp were for sleeping.”

"They are. Normally, those are the warriors and apprentices dens, but they house all the other warriors for the moment. This is the elders den, which is where Windclan's warriors have been sleeping. The one next to this is the nursery, which is where all the apprentices sleep."

Smoky sought for a question or anything else to not seem disinterested. This information would surely come in useful later, he reminded himself, but it was simply too mundane for him to successfully feign enthusiasm in that current moment. "I see," is all he could muster.

"If you encounter anything which requires assistance, I'll do my best to help." Fernleaf smiled as if the other cat's brusque responses hadn't bothered him. Smoky nodded and left the aged tom to his work.

His head bumped against a firm mass immediately outside of the den. Smoky gasped at the unexpected sight of a large tom, who then slowly backed away to give him some space. He had dark brown fur and sturdy white paws, and he looked down at Smoky with a pair of oddly soft eyes. For a moment, they only stared at each other.

"My apologies," the large tom finally said. "I didn't intend to alarm you. Lionfrost asked me to fetch you.”

“And who are you?” Smoky asked, hoping his voice shook less than he felt it did.

“I should have introduced myself first. I am Beartooth, a warrior of Thunderclan.” He closed his eyes and crouched in submission. Smoky felt silly for being intimidated by him.

“What does he want?”

Beartooth stood back up. “I’m not exactly sure,” he admitted, “but he is in the warriors hollow nearby, so you may ask him yourself.”

“Sure,” Smoky accepted. He got the feeling Beartooth was not one for needless chatter, and was grateful he did not try to initiate any stilted smalltalk on the way there. The hollow wasn’t far, being a small ways past the elders den towards the front.

The inside of the hollow was notably larger than the training grounds. It was completely sealed off from the sky, and the ground was of solid dirt instead of sand. Lionfrost was wrestling with a brawny, pale tom with scruffy fur. Instead of fighting with any technique or style, they fought a battle of raw strength. Both Smoky and Beartooth sat and quietly waited for them to finish. They tumbled across the ground and kicked up a storm of dirt, yet neither faltered in the slightest. They broke free after a bit, their chests heaved from the strain of exertion. The other cat's fur stood on end but his tail wagged in excitement. Somehow, Lionfrost's fur was only slightly tousled.

"Ah ha, good work, Largebelly," Lionfrost panted.

"Hey, not too shabby yourself!" Largebelly roared with mirth. He shook the dirt off his fur, then turned to the spectating cats. "Haven't seen your face before, have I?"

"Oh!" Lionfrost spoke before anyone else could. "I hadn't even noticed you two had entered," he chuckled in a slightly stilted way which made it obvious he was laughing in embarrassment instead of amusement. "This is Smoky. He was the one that saved us this morning."

"Nice to meet ya!" His meow rumbled with a deep purr. "I'm Largebelly, but you already know that. I'm from Riverclan."

"Nice to meet you too," Smoky responded. Largebelly continued purring, and Smoky got the feeling the cat recognized his anxiety. Both Largebelly and Beartooth were intimidating from their impressive builds, but made him feel at ease for their unique reasons. Lionfrost still made him uneasy, but he supposed he had no reason to worry unless he found himself on the business end of the deputy's claws.

"Smoky," Lionstar called for his attention, "are you willing to spar? I had Beartooth seek you out hoping we could wrestle for a bit."

"Forgive my interruption, but don't you think it is too late for that? The sun was setting before we entered." Beartooth explained.

Largebelly walked past them and stuck his head out the hollow. "He’s right; it's already sundown! Time sure passes quicker than you think. And," he turns to the cats inside, "we haven't even eaten yet. I'm sure all the good stuff is gone by now." His tail drooped.

"I've already eaten," Smoky said.

"Well, I'm hungrier than a bear during Leaf-fall. I'm gonna make my way to the fresh-kill pile." The Riverclan cat announced as he left.

"If you've already eaten, are you up to it?" Lionfrost asked hopefully.

"We won't sleep well if we train right before we sleep," Smoky pointed out. He was far too tired already, and the last thing he needed was to work himself up so late.

Lionfrost looked back at him as if he didn't quite understand what the other cat meant. "I see," he muttered, dejected. "Tomorrow, perhaps?"

"Perhaps."

Lionfrost feigned satisfaction with the answer by sticking his tail up. "Goodnight, Smoky," he meowed, trying his best to sound polite, before leaving as well.

"I'd assume you will be sleeping in the elders den." Beartooth remarked. Smoky wasn't sure if it was an actual suggestion or an order.

"You’re probably right. Goodnight," Smoky bowed, earning a nod from the other cat. He walked out and went to the specified den.

"Hey," Wolf meowed as his son entered. "How was it?" His tail pointed towards the moss nest next to the one he lied in.

Smoky lied down as well, nearly curling up with his forepaws over his tail. "There's a lot of cats here," he answered.

"Yeah, it can be pretty overwhelming," Wolf reassured. "You'll get used to it eventually. It's a lot different than anything you've experienced before."

Smoky hummed in agreement. He rested his head on his forelegs. As glad as he was to see Wolf again, his fatigue took priority.

"Dewstar's put me on dawn patrol tomorrow, so don't get scared if I'm not here when you wake up."

"I won't," he quietly yawned.

Wolf took it as a sign that Smoky wasn't interested in conversing anymore. He wordlessly curled himself up well, both of them soon drifting into sleep.

* * *

Talonshade sat immediately outside the camp, next to the dirtplace. It was far from being an optimal location, but she wanted to quickly talk with her fellow Shadowclan warrior in private while remaining inconspicuous. She didn’t have to wait for long before the desired cat emerged from the exit. He slunk over, pelt indistinct under the night sky.

“How has your surveillance gone, Blackpelt?” She remained seated, instead waiting for the other cat to approach her.

“It was...much less eventful than I had expected. I might even say it was a bore.” He sat near her and curled his tail over his paws. “I’m unsure if I’ve ever met a cat quite as uninteresting as him.”

“Really? That’s rather disappointing. Did Dewstar really ask him to join simply because he’s Wolf’s kin?” She raised a paw to her chin.

“I doubt her intentions are as honest as that. His simplicity comes off as being completely earnest; and do be aware this is merely conjecture, but I think it may be a ploy. If that is the case, he is truly quite the actor.”

“Hmm,” her tail twitched in thought. “Well, continue watching him. I may not know what she’s thinking, but he is still a liability.” She got up and walked past Blackpelt, back to camp.

“Of course,” he nodded. As soon as she had disappeared from sight, he took off into the forest.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Finals are coming up so either I will write less due to spending all my time studying or write more due to it being a form of stress relief. We'll find out soon enough
> 
> I have an outline and WIPs of future chapters already but if you have any suggestions or ideas feel free to post them. All complements/complaints/criticisms are welcome as well xoxoxo


	3. The Moonfalls

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> How is this longer than the previous 2 chapters combined

Just as he’d had said, Wolf was nowhere to be found in the morning. Smoky had fallen asleep with his back brushing against his father's but he must have been more tired than he'd thought to have not stirred when the older cat woke up. In fact, he was the only cat still in the den. He wondered if they all had similar obligations or if they'd let him sleep in. Taking a moment to stretch away the few remnants of sleep and lick his tousled fur into place, he decided himself both presentable and lucid enough to face the rest of the camp before making his way outside. Dewstar was sitting in the middle of the central clearing, talking to an unfamiliar pointed she-cat with dark fur. He intended to wait until they were done, but the leader urged him over with her paw as soon as she saw him.

"Good morning, Smoky," she hummed.

The dark she-cat looked him over for only a moment before turning away as if she'd already decided on her opinion of him. “‘Morning,” she muttered, “I’m Crowsnout.”

“I’m—”

She cut him off. “I know who you are. Smoky, right? Well, anyways, I have things to do, so you can have her all to yourself."

Before he could respond, she strode away without another word. His ears turned to their sides, feeling the slightest bit irked.

"I apologize for her," Dewstar said on the other cat's behalf. "That aside, how are you faring so far?"

"Good, I guess. I haven't been here very long." He struggled to think of anything else to say, but his words failed him. He asked the she-cat in his head for help, but she only scoffed.

"Did you sleep well?"

"Yes," he nodded.

"Very good," she purred. "As for today's tasks, Talonshade asked to go on a hunting patrol with you. She shouldn't be too far off. I have more work for you after you return, but do not worry about that for now." 

Smoky thanked her before going to seek out the Shadowclan deputy. He wondered what other sort of work she had lined up for him even if there was no point in thinking about it now.

_ "You have not even been here a sunrise and she's already got you doing chores," _ the voice in his head complained.

_ "You're not even the one doing anything." _He stopped while he responded; he didn't want to get distracted and accidentally walk right past Talonshade.

_ "Just as you feel my emotions, I feel yours, however mild they are. When you are tired, I am also tired." _ She added to her point by loudly yawning.

_ "You're always tired. And now, you're making me…tired…" _ His thoughts faded to an equally loud yawn.

"Talonshade, you think something's wrong with him? He's just standing there doing nothing."

Hearing her name, Smoky's eyes split open and he jerked in the direction of the voice. A young blue and white tom stared at him from a few fox-lengths away.

"What are you going on about?" Talonshade rounded the corner to where the addressing cat stood. Seeing Smoky, she ran up to him and motioned for the other cat with her tail.

"Ah, I've been looking for you," she meowed.

"Dewstar told me to go on a hunting patrol with you."

"So you're already aware. Jumpaw is coming with us, and Thorntail and her apprentice are joining as well."

"That’s me, by the way. Nice to meet you!" The blue and white tom raised his paw and waved it with a grin.

"Is he your apprentice?" Smoky asked, and she nodded in conformation. "What's an 'apprentice', anyways? I assume their 'mentors' are the cats who teach them, but I don’t know anything else."

She stared at him with a blank expression before apologizing and shaking her head. "Right, of course you don't know. But yes, mentors train their apprentices. When a kit reaches six moons of age, they become an apprentice and the leader assigns a warrior to teach them. Usually, it goes on for six more moons before they become a warrior, but there are plenty of exceptions."

"I see," Smoky replied. He looked at Jumpaw again: he was rather small, so he must be a newly appointed apprentice. Smoky verbalized his thoughts as a question, provoking a rather aggressive response.

“I’m nine moons old now! Just because I’m small doesn’t mean I’m a kit!” Jumppaw’s tail was completely puffed out and lashed behind him. “Don’t—”

Talonshade stepped in front of her apprentice. “Jumppaw!” she hissed, sending him reeling.

“S-sorry,” he muttered with his ears flat against his head. His tail fell limp. She glared for a moment longer, his eyes avoiding hers, before sighing and turning to face Smoky again.

"Anyways," she started, "Thorntail and Pike should be near the entrance. We shouldn’t keep them waiting." With that, she began walking away without making sure Smoky was following. Jumppaw sulked beside her, but it only took a few steps for him to start prancing ahead.

At the front of the central clearing below the Greatarch sat a pair of she-cats—the one being a tortoiseshell with teal eyes, and the other a cat with spotted fur the color of foxgloves. The former watched with amusement as the latter chased after her tail like a queen playing with her kit. She froze in surprise when Jumppaw greeted her, yelping from the spotted tabby biting her tail harder than she'd expected. She only barely managed to brace herself before tumbling over her own paws.

The spotted cat bowed in remorse. "I give my apology," she meowed.

"D-don't worry about it," the tortoiseshell laughed awkwardly.

"Sorry, I didn't mean to scare ya'," Jumppaw laughed with equal embarrassment.

Putting the scene behind her, the purple she-cat walked up to Smoky. "This is him?" she asked. Her eyes roamed his body, more in curiosity than scrutiny.

"Yes," Talonshade meowed the confirmation, earning a nod in acknowledgement.

"I am Pike Which Swims at Dawn, but I am called 'Pike'," she introduced herself.

"Odd name," Smoky responded. He only realized the imprudence of his words after the tortoiseshell grimaced in dudgeon. However, Pike appeared unaffected.

Talonshade spoke before Pike could. "She's not a clan cat. She ended up in Shadowclan due to some…unusual circumstances, but we can talk about that later." If she let Pike explain, no doubt she'd talk until all the rabbits and mice in the forest hid in their burrows for the night.

"Are you that excited to go hunting that you're making us rush our introductions?" The sole unnamed cat meowed while pretending to be annoyed. “I’m Thorntail, Pike’s mentor,” she purred.

An introduction wasn't really necessary since she could only be Thorntail, Smoky thought, but kept quiet in favor of nodding politely when the she-cat confirmed as such.

"If we're all acquainted now, we can leave," Talonshade announced. She _ did _ seem to be in an awful hurry for no apparent reason, but Smoky doubted she would give him an answer if he asked. She looked around for any dissent, but they all only nodded when they met her eyes. "Let's go," she said as she turned to the trail. Thorntail brushed up against Talonshade and whispered with her tail held high. The deputy muttered something back, and she giggled in response. Smoky wished he'd been listening intently enough to hear while knowing it was doubtfully something they'd want him privy to even if he couldn’t deny his curiosity. However, he quickly forgot about it as the other cats made small talk which soon dragged him in as well. They continued like this until they'd arrived at the location Talonshade had led them.

"Alright, we'll split up: you two can go together," she motioned towards Thorntail and Pike, "Jumppaw will go with me, and Smoky can go on his own."

"Aw, but I wanted to show off to him!" Jumppaw whined. The loud sound of a nearby animal running away through the underbrush caused them all to startle.

Talonshade sighed. "Do you mean show off how loud you can be? Because we're all well aware of how talented you are at it."

"Okay, I _ know _ it's bad to yell while we're hunting, but it's good during a fight. It's totally intimidating!"

"And how would you know that? You’ve never been in an actual fight."

"It always freaks Mousepaw out."

"And so does everything else in the forest," Thorntail laughed. Talonshade only rolled her eyes, albeit with a smile.

Talonshade cleared her throat, gathering their attention yet again. "You all know what to do now. Let's not waste any more time." They all meowed an acknowledgement, and she made a pleased noise in response. They all left in different directions.

Smoky was used to hunting on territory similar to Windclan's, although he greatly preferred the denser parts of the forest. The shrublands provided no cover for stalking cats while the smaller animals easily hid below the underbrush. The wind flew freely across the open area where there were few trees to block their path, and they disturbed the vegetation in a way that was sometimes difficult to distinguish from the sounds of moving prey. His honed ears followed a muffled rustling sound that was far too defined to be caused by the wind, leading his eyes to the source: a rabbit—a rather large one—exiting its burrow through the thicket above. He immediately crouched and began to move. His paws stepped around any twigs which threatened his hunt and tail held just high enough to not catch anything in its long fur. The rabbit naively nibbled at the taller grass a ways away from its den, completely unaware of the predator's advance. Suddenly, a breeze struck from the cat's direction and carried his scent to the rabbit. As soon as it turned its head and caught sight of him, it made a mad dash to its shelter. Smoky was not about to give up so easily.

Powerful hindquarters thrust him across the distance separating him from his catch. He was fast, yet it was no less formidable a foe than one would expect a rabbit to be in a contest of speed. Each foot landed with intent brought upon by the knowledge that he'd lose should he slow down even slightly. It had reached its den while Smoky was a few pawsteps away, but it struggled to skip through the branches which once protected it. He opened his jaws as pounced, securing his teeth around its neck as the momentum forced him through the snapping twigs. He grounded himself and deepened his grip until he was certain it died.

"Impressive," a cat behind him meowed. He jerked around to see Talonshade, who had a woodpecker and thrush at her paws. Jumppaw was beside her carrying a small prairie dog in his mouth.

Smoky gently dropped the rabbit. "You were watching?"

"Yes. Well, I just happened to notice you," she assured him. "I doubt many cats would be able to catch a rabbit from so far away, although I guess it's to be expected, considering your apparent fighting ability." She worded the last part rather oddly and in a way Smoky felt was intended to express doubt. Seemed that saving her life wasn't enough to prove his strength.

Before he even thought about responding, Smoky's attention was caught by the bright orange plumage of an oriole landing on a nearby bush right behind her. A silk nest of caterpillars was strung across the branches, and the bird tilted its head as it sized up the wriggling insects. He slinked past her in its direction. Talonshade's instinct was to question him, but she closed her mouth to instead look back. Jumppaw did so as well, and—thankfully enough—the fresh-kill between his jaws kept him silent.

Smoky didn't want to disturb the caterpillars, but there wasn't any way for him to catch it from his current position without jumping onto it. From all other sides, the oriole was too far in the bush for him to lunge at it with any kind of certainty. Unless he wanted to lick sticky silk out of his fur for the next quarter moon, there was only one other thing he could do. He braced himself as he focused on the expected path it would take, and deliberately crushed a stick below his paw. The bird launched into the air and into Smoky's line of sight. He jumped and caught it with his paw, twisting in the air and slamming it down before stilling its movements with a quick bite to the neck.

"That was cool, wasn't it, Talonshade?" Jumppaw mumbled around the prairie dog, proving that even having his mouth full wasn't enough to completely silence him.

"Certainly," she tepidly agreed. Whether she was trying to hide her own enthusiasm or was feigning it for her apprentice's sake, Smoky couldn't tell.

Jumppaw dropped his prey to speak clearly. "Shouldn't we go find Thorntail and Pike? I mean we've caught a lot on our own, so if they've caught just as much then we'll have enough to go back to camp with."

"Last I recall, they'd been over here," Talonshade began leading the way, picking up her two birds as she did. The two toms collected their own catches and followed after her. It wasn't long before the rest of their patrol was in sight. It seemed Pike was in the middle of a hunt, so they quietly waited to make their presence known.

Pike ran right up to the mouse, looking with some confusion when it immediately ran and hid. Her ears fell flat against her head once she realized what she did.

"Pfft, what was _ that _?" Jumppaw laughed. He jumped through the grass and dropped his fresh-kill again. Smoky and Talonshade approached as well.

"It is forced by my habits… hunting in the territory of the clans is much different from the hunting in the mountains." She meowed, seemingly talking to herself than to the others.

Jumppaw cocked her head. "So you just…walk up to it?" Pike nodded, unaffected by the other cat's disbelief.

"There are few places for hiding on the mountains," Pike began. "So when we are young, we are taken to see the mountain before we learn to hunt so we know of the landscape. We must be more fast than the prey, and chase it to a wall or a hole so it cannot escape. Of course."

"So you can't catch them by surprise, huh," Jumpaw thought out loud. "Hey, we should go hunt there too; it sounds like fun!" His tail stuck up as he addressed his mentor.

"I suppose you'd like to take the quarter-moon-long journey to the Tribe of Soaring Leaves so you can run around on the mountainside?"

"Well, of course not. I was just…." His voice trailed off, indicating he had indeed been thinking of taking a quarter-moon-long journey to the Tribe of Soaring Leaves so he could run around on the mountainside. "Never mind."

"I've been wondering, what's the Tribe of Soaring Leaves?" Although Talonshade has said she wasn't a clan cat, Smoky still wondered why Pike had such an odd name and didn't speak fluently, but guessed that it had to do with the fact that she wasn't from the forest.

"The Tribe of Soaring Leaves is similar to the clans that are here in the forest. In the north direction of here is the mountain where the tribe lives inside of the caves. In the clans is the leader and medicine cat, but in the tribes is the healer who is named Teller of Pointed Stones and does both of the jobs. There are to-bes which are the same as the apprentices of the clans. 

Also, the warriors do both hunting and defending of the territory. In the tribe are the prey-hunters who only do hunting, and cave-guards who only do defending.” She explained more than necessary since she rarely had reason to talk about the tribe. She had been a kit when she joined Shadowclan, but remembered her life at the tribe fondly.

“I think I’d get bored if I only ever hunted or patrolled the border,” Jumppaw remarked.

“It is because you are born into the clans. For cats born into the tribe, it is normal.”

“Hmmm, guess you’re right. If I had to choose, I don't know which I'd want to do.”

"Cats do not choose which job they will do. The healer makes the choice based on if they think a cat will be a better prey-hunter or cave-guard. You are very strong but not very agile, so you would probably have been made a cave-guard."

"What? I'm plenty agile!" Jumppaw lunged at her, but tripped over his paws and pathetically rolled past his target.

"Yes, you're the most agile cat the clans have ever seen," Thorntail rolled her eyes. "You're scaring everything away again," she nodded towards a group of nearby birds noisily flapping away. 

"Sorry…" he muttered as he got back to his paws. His ego having taken a large blow, he shuffled to Talonshade's side while his head and tail drooped.

Thorntail looked over the fresh-kill they'd all set on the ground. "Looks like we've caught enough already anyways. Let's get back to camp."

"What are you talking about?" Smoky asks her. "You haven't caught anything."

"Errr.…" The tortoiseshell looked away.

"It's fine," Talonshade responded for her. "We have more than enough for all of us. Every cat has returned from a hunting patrol with empty paws at one point or another."

"I don't think I saw her even try—" Jumppaw started, but Talonshade silenced him with a swipe of her tail.

She purred in thanks for the support. "Right as always, Talie!" A fierce glare quickly shut her up.

"'Talie?'" Smoky repeated, obvious to the calico's embarrassment.

"Don't—don't call me that in front of others…" Talonshade lowered her ears and looked away as she tried and failed to ignore the many pairs of confused eyes.

"Oh, whoops!" Thorntail laughed and raised her paw, shaking it dismissively. "Let's all forget about that, haha."

"How—" Jumppaw started, but a quick look by his mentor cut him off.

“We’re returning to camp.” Talonshade announced. She turned to Smoky. “Would you mind leading the way?”

“Of course,” the tom replied, nodding. He knew she was testing him on if he knew how to get back to camp, but he unfortunately had not been paying attention. It was the first time he had left camp, and hadn’t kept track of the direction they’d gone as he’d expected the other cats to know. He begged the cat in his mind for help, acutely aware of how he was losing her respect for each breath he waited.

“_ Oh, you are hopeless! _ ” she sighed. “ _ The red trees to your left: you had come from that direction. _”

He provided her a quick apology before he quickly turned and walked past the indicated trees. He assumed it was the correct direction as he heard no objections, but wouldn’t put it past Talonshade to stay quiet in wait of Smoky recognizing his error even if he doubted any of the others would keep their mouths shut if they knew he was leading them astray. They continued without incident, save for Jumppaw tripping over an arching root due to how immersed he was in his conversation with Pike. Smoky had to admit it was impressive how he rolled back to his feet in a single movement.

Just as they’d gotten back and layed their catches on the fresh-kill pile, Sootwhisker ran over as soon as he’d seen them. “Finally! This morning, Snowmask, Heronsong, and I had planned to have a group training session with all the Shadowclan and Windclan apprentices, but you’d left before we got the chance to tell you!” Realizing he’d overwhelmed them with his sudden rambling as they stared back, he went quiet for a moment. “If you’ll allow it, that is,” he tells Talonshade.

“I have no reason to say no,” she responds. “Have you gathered everyone else yet?”

“No, we’d been waiting for your return.”

“I see.” Talonshade ran her tail along Jumppaw’s flank to get his attention. “Go fetch Nettlepaw.”

“Aw, why me? He’s gonna get all grumpy and ask why he has to train when he’s a medicine cat apprentice and stuff,” Jumppaw whines. 

“Because you’re the only cat that can bother him enough to get him out of his nest,” she growled with annoyance.

“Fiiinnne…” Jumppaw groaned before hopping off towards the medicine den.

“In that case, I’ll see to finding Minnowpaw and Mousepaw,” Sootwhisker nodded. He waited for Pike to follow before heading deeper into camp.

"If you'll excuse me, I have other things to attend to. If there's anything you need, you'll have to ask someone else." Talonshade said to both Smoky and Thorntail, but only looked in the direction of the former. Her walk towards the camp's entrance turned into a full sprint by the time she made it to under the Greatarch.

"Don't mind her," Thorntail meowed, "she's just one-track minded. When there's something she needs to do, she can't concentrate on anything else."

"What's she doing?" It made little sense to Smoky for Dewstar to send Talonshade on a hunting patrol if she'd given the deputy a task worthy of such great focus.

The tortoiseshell looked at the entranceway with a distant stare. "I don't know exactly, she never tells me about this stuff… Aha, I'm sorry!" Her voice perked up and her whiskers twitched in embarrassment. "I was just thinking about something, but it doesn't matter. Well, if you don't need me for anything else…" She dismissed herself with another apology and headed somewhere deeper into the camp.

Smoky wasn’t sure what to do next, but guessed Dewstar had no shortage of things for him to do. He intended to go seek her out, but something caught his attention before he began heading to the den.

A small brown tom was dragging a bundle of small, intertwined branches across camp with the largest one between his teeth. He stopped frequently to shove the wood back together as it threatened to fall apart every few steps. Smoky stared, wondering if he should dare distract the cat from his laborious task to offer help. Their eyes met, but only briefly. The small tom obviously saw him, but turned back to the mass of wood. He'd already been seen, so there was little point in acting like he hadn't been watching.

"Do you need help?" Smoky asked, standing some ways away in fear he'd get in the middle and make it even harder on the cat.

"N-o, I'm good." His lack of breath proved otherwise.

"Are you sure?"

"I'm sure." His teeth returned to the branch, shoving a loose twig back into place.

"What's your name?"

The brown tabby dropped the branch again, sighing. "Twigpaw. Do you have any other questions? Because I'm busy."

“Are you from Windclan?” Smoky asked.

“Yeah.”

"If you're an apprentice, why aren't you training with all the other apprentices? Why are you carrying that by yourself anyways?"

"Because Dewstar asked me to," Twigpaw shrugged. "She always asks me to replace the moss in the dens and bury the stuff left over after everyone eats and things like that. I'm the only apprentice in Windclan other than Minnowpaw, but she's the medicine cat apprentice, so obviously all the jobs like this fall to me."

"Isn't it boring?" Smoky felt a bit guilty over keeping him from his work, but the curiosity was overwhelming. It all sounded rather lonely to Smoky.

"I guess, but I don't mind. Dewstar found me when I was a kit and took me in, so I owe her everything."

"Tell me where you're taking these branches to, and I'll do it for you. You should be training with Minnowpaw and the others," he offered, expecting the young cat to jump at the chance to shove such a laborious task onto someone else.

Twigpaw shook his head. "No thanks. Dewstar asked me to do this, she didn't ask me to go train."

Smoky cocked his head. "All apprentices train, though. Isn't that the point of being an apprentice?"

Twigpaw shook his head again. "I've never learned how to fight or hunt or anything yet.”

“Don’t you have a mentor?”

“Crowsnout is, but Dewstar’s always sending her off to do stuff and doesn’t let me come along ‘cause it’s dangerous, so she never has time to teach me.”

It all struck Smoky as incredibly odd. He didn't understand why Twigpaw felt so indebted towards the leader, even if she did accept him into her clan. If she cared about him, why wouldn't she want him to become a strong and independent cat instead of simply assigning him the chores no one else wanted to do?

_ “Hmm, it does not seem like he’s going to relent. If she has been so adamant about denying him proper training, I don’t think she would take too kindly to you trying to undermine her,” _ the she-cat’s voice noted with a thick disdain.

“I see,” Smoky said to Twigpaw. “Would you accept my help anyways, to finish it quicker?”

“No thanks. I’m sure you have more important things to do anyways,” Twigpaw dismissed.

She was right; Smoky decided there was no point in dragging out their conversation any longer. "If you're certain… well, nice to meet you."

"Huh…? Uh, yeah! Nice to meet you too!" Twigpaw was surprised by the basic act of courtesy. "I haven't asked for your name yet."

"I'm Smoky," he replied.

"Oh, uh, thanks for offering. I need to get back to this, so…" Smoky nodded, and they stared for a moment before Twigpaw grabbed the bundle of branches and began his task anew.

Smoky assured himself that he was thinking too much about the cat's situation, but it still left a bad taste in his mouth. Before he could begin his trek to the leader's den, yet another distraction emerged in the form of an orange cat all but barreled into him. He yelped and fumbled over his own paws as he struggled to not fall over.

"You're Wolf's son, right?" Her thin tail whipped back and forth.

He hesitated to answer, unsure if it was in his best interest to tell this strange cat, but not like it was a secret anyways. "...Yes?"

"Huh? What's with the uncertainty? It's an either-or question."

"It's what I'm told, at least."

"How can you talk about him so plainly? He was the strongest warrior in all of Windclan, no, he entire forest before he left! Surely you have to take some pride in that." Tail lashing, she took a step closer to him. He had no idea what her problem was, but he'd already regret answering.

"I really don't have anyone to compare him to, so I can't take any pride in that. He never even told me he used to be a clan cat before we arrived here." Smoky's ears turned to the side and he looked away, already wincing from the intense glare he received. "Regardless, there's no reason for me to take pride in things I haven't done myself." When he finally looked back, she had the kind of expression like he'd told her he hunts kits for fresh-kill.

"Even then, you should have noticed how much stronger he was than the other cats. Do you not have any stories about that stuff, like the times he tore right through a cat's neck with one paw, or fought a dozen cats by himself, or—"

"He never did anything like that. At least, not in front of me." She gazed at him with a look of pure, unadulterated betrayal; he had no idea how any cat could possibly believe stories like that, but her countenance alone made him feel bad for destroying her image of his father even if it was so blatantly exaggerated. "Maybe he became less ruthless after leaving Windclan," he added in hopes it would calm her, if even slightly.

"I think you just don't respect him at all!" Without warning, she pushed herself as high as she could stand and continued. "He's done so much for others, and he's so strong and honorable and…and you don't care about any of that. Ugh!" She spun and took off so fast she—unintentionally, he hoped—kicked dirt right into Dusty's face. He coughed and shook it out of his fur, and by the time he could open his eyes, she was nowhere to be seen. He wasn’t even upset or offended by the interaction, only confused. He had more important things to worry about at the moment anyways.

Approaching the leader’s den, he found Dewstar and Pinetail outside instead, talking to a few other cats. She swiftly dismissed them once she noticed Smoky, save for the deputy.

“Welcome back,” she purred. “I see your hunting patrol was without incident.”

Smoky nodded. He'd truly enjoyed getting to know his clanmates more, but he wasn't particularly interested in retelling the experience to her. "I came to ask what you want me to do next."

"Ah, yes. I apologize for asking this of you not even a day after your arrival, but a mission has already presented itself," she explained calmly. "I've caught word that a band of rogues have made camp in the tunnels where the Moonfalls are located. Obviously, this isn't something we can ignore. You may choose which cats you'd like to accompany you. I'd like you to choose cats with apprentices as well; I do not believe this will be a particularly difficult battle, so it would be a good opportunity for them to gain firsthand experience."

"How about Twigpaw?" Smoky asked without missing a beat.

"Ah, him," Dewstar sighed. "He doesn't know how to properly fight yet. It would be far too dangerous for him, in addition to the fact that his mentor is out at the moment."

Smoky grunted in acknowledgement. He wasn't sure what he expected, but it was something close to what he got. "I'll ask the other clans' cats then."

"Excellent plan," the leader purred. "I think it best to leave after sundown, so your enemy will be exhausted. There's plenty of time until then, so tell the cats you've chosen that they've been relieved of their duties in preparation for tonight. I have faith that you will not fail me."

"Of course," Smoky respectfully bowed. He turned and left, but not before hearing Pinetail begin his tirade about his lack of trust in the new cat.

***

Smoky thought it would be best to find the deputies and ask for their suggestions. He wasn't sure how far into the group training of the Shadowclan and Windclan cats they'd gotten, but it couldn't have been that long. Jumppaw and Pike would be too tired from both hunting and training but Sootwhisker had also mentioned a cat named Mousepaw, and Jumppaw had referred to her as well, so he assumed Mousepaw was a Shadowclan cat.

He made his way to the Warriors Hollow, cautiously poking his head in lest he interrupt them. They were practicing moves on each other while the older cats made comments on what they did and didn't do well. Sootwhisker and Heronsong were there, and along with the cat that must be Snowmask. He was a large and lean tabby tom with cream fur and white paws, but most notable was his stark white face with a pair of cold blue eyes. His voice was flat and grim, and even from afar it made the fur on Smoky's neck stand. 

_ "It seems as if he'd be rather accommodating," _ a familiar voice snarked. Smoky already decided that Snowmask was not a cat he'd ever want to get on the wrong side of. He looked over the apprentices. There was an uneven number of them, so Pike was sparring with Sootwhisker; Smoky hadn't expected the older-looking warrior to be so nimble, yet he evaded the she-cat's swift attacks with an impressive agility. Minnowpaw was jumping over Nettlepaw with the latter occasionally griping about how he wished he was doing literally anything else. Jumppaw was sparring with a small purple she-cat which must have been Mousepaw, her name certainly owning up to her diminutive size. She squeaked and braced herself whenever Jumppaw lunged at her and he kept apologizing and trying to comfort her.

"Pathetic," Snowmask scoffed at her display. "You'll get yourself killed in no time if you freeze like a rabbit whenever you're attacked."

"I-I'm sorry!" she squealed, closing her eyes to avoid his judgmental glare. "I wish Goldenleap was here…" she muttered to herself. 

"Hey, she's trying, alright?!" Jumppaw stretched out his neck to get as close to eye-level as he could with Snowmask, which was not very. "She's not gonna do any better if you scare her more!"

"I wouldn't expect the cats she'll face in battle will allow her time to compose herself before tearing her neck out," he stated, earning another fearful whimper from Mousepaw.

Heronsong came over and shoved herself between the two arguing toms. "Snowmask, what are you _ doing _?" 

"Trying to talk some sense into these cats." He replied, unaffected.

Heronsong sighed. "Let me handle this. Perhaps you should take over for Sootwhisker; I'm sure sparring with Pike will be engaging enough for you to stop making another scene."

Smoky thought he saw the slightest bit of interest on Snowmask's face at the proposition, but it left just as quickly as it had arrived. "Fine," Snowmask simply said before leaving Jumppaw and Mousepaw to the medicine cat.

"My apologies for not noticing you. As you can see, we have our paws full," Heronsong's suddenly turned her attention to Smoky, catching the tom off guard. Jumppaw and Mousepaw stared at him as well.

"You knew I was here?" He asked in surprise.

"Of course, did you think you were being sneaky?" She chuckled. "Anyways, I don't suppose you're only here to watch?"

Smoky shook his head. "Dewstar is sending me to fight off some rogues after sundown and told me to gather a patrol myself. She said to choose cats and their apprentices because it shouldn't be too difficult a fight," he explained.

"Wait, a real battle? Like a _ real _ real battle?" Jumppaw immediately ran over to Smoky, his wagging tail sticking straight up in excitement.

"Yes, a _ real _ real battle," Smoky confirmed, "although you've already been on a hunting patrol today in addition to training. You'll be too exhausted to fight properly."

Jumppaw flinched as if he'd been struck across the snout. "Are you kidding me? I'm totally rearing to go! In fact I'll drive all those rogues off Windclan's territory all by myself!"

"You're just making yourself look worse," Heronsong scolded.

Jumppaw's tail suddenly fell slack against the ground as he muttered sadly, "I…guess you're right."

"I'm assuming you came here for Mousepaw?" Heronsong asked.

Smoky looked at the small apprentice with some reluctance, and immediately felt bad when her eyes met his. Noting Smoky's hesitation, Heronsong continued on to assure him.

"She's much more relaxed when her mentor is with her, and he's an incredibly skilled warrior as well."

"Yeah!" Jumppaw agreed. Although disappointed Smoky wouldn't bring him along, he wanted his friend to go if he couldn't. He walked back over to Mousepaw and affectionately pressed his flank against hers. "Goldenleap has some weird rivalry with Talonshade though, but he's really good when he's not trying to one-up her." 

Mousepaw still seemed overwhelmed by it all, Smoky thought. "Dewstar said the cats I chose to come with me would be relieved of all their duties and training until we leave," he said in an attempt to coax her with the boon of being able to leave the training session early. It seemed his words achieved their desired effect as she had stood a bit taller and perked her ears forward.

"I guess I'll have to go into battle eventually, and you said it's not supposed to be that hard, so…"

"Fantastic!" Heronsong purred. "We have an even number of apprentices here as well."

"I'm still jealous, but good luck, Mousepaw!" Jumppaw shoved his head against her shoulder so hard she staggered, but she smiled at it anyways.

"T-thank you…ah, I should go find Goldenleap." She looked at Smoky for affirmation, and he nodded. She ran out of the Warriors Hollow so fast he heard the air whip around her.

"You're gonna take me with, next time!" Jumppaw demanded.

"I'm not sure if there's going to be a next time." Smoky was referring to the possibility Dewstar wouldn't ask something like this of him again, but his words were seemingly far more ominous than he'd intended.

"Are…are you going to die?" The blue cat looked up with wide eyes.

"Are you going to die!?" Heronsong repeated, gasping.

"I'm not going to die! I meant that I don't know if I'll ever be asked to lead a patrol like this again!"

"Well you could have just said so," the she-cat griped as if she was disappointed Smoky didn't intend on losing his life tonight. She _ was _ the medicine cat, so maybe she was looking forward to Smoky coming back, lethally injured, just so she could pull back from the brink of death.

"I think I'm done here," Smoky sighed. The two cats said goodbye, both obviously disappointed Smoky was not taking Jumppaw with him nor dying tonight.

He left the hollow and saw the Riverclan deputy from across the camp, and walked over. Buckstep was precariously balanced atop one of the warriors dens, carefully weaving bramble vines over an opening on the side. A bundle of weak and bug-bitten vines laid on the ground, being replaced by fresh ones.

"Hey Pouncefoot," he called down to a she-cat on the ground below him—the same cat which had berated Smoky earlier—and she wordlessly handed another tendril to him.

“Buckstep,” Smoky called out. The other tom looked down with the vine still clasped between his fangs before spitting it out. He jumped down, short tail raised as he approached the cat who addressed him. Pouncefoot looked over as well, but remained where she was.

“What can I do for you today?” he asked in a jokingly formal manner and cocked his head. Smoky explained Dewstar’s mission to him, and he nodded in response.

“Hmmm, you should ask Plumfur. I don’t know where he is right now, but Nectarpaw should be somewhere in camp. She’s got white fur and is pretty small, so... don’t mistake her for a rabbit or anything.”

“Thank you,” Smoky replied, hint of a smile curling at the sides of his mouth. Buckstep seemed to have noticed though, as he gave Smoky a smile of his own.

“And I don’t particularly care about the other cats, but I’ll be pretty mad if you let any of mine get killed, alright?” Buckstep added.

Pouncefoot immediately yelled at him. “Don’t make him nervous!”

“I was only joking,” he assured her as he walked back. She rolled her eyes at him, but her feigned annoyance was betrayed by her tail curling up.

There was little point for Smoky to hang around any longer. Although there weren’t too many stark white cats around, the camp was incredibly large. Buckstep said she was here, and it'd be problematic if she left before he could find her. He walked through the middle of camp and was pleasantly surprised by how quickly his search ended.

_ That must be her _, Smoky thought as he caught sight of the small she-cat padding in the spring. He was especially surprised to see Twigpaw swimming with her. Well, "swimming" was a generous term; he hugged the edge of the pool, terrified of the deeper water. She urged him to follow her towards the center with her irritation contrasting her encouraging words.

"It's not that deep! And I told you, I'll save you if you drown."

"That's not as comforting as you think it is…" Twigpaw's voice shook despite his attempt to keep it steady.

"I know I'm from Riverclan, but it's not that scary," she whined as she tried to peel him away from the shore. He let her, padding through the water before suddenly flailing and yelling as he went under the surface. She was momentarily shocked by the water splashed in her face, but quickly regained her senses and dove under. She carried him over her back and thrust him onto the dirt. The front part of his body rose on unsteady paws and he coughed although he hadn't swallowed any water. She hopped up beside him and looked at him with intent and worry.

"S-sorry," Twigpaw croaked out, voice still sore from the lack of air. "And, uh, thanks…"

"At least you let go of the edge," she said a bit scathingly, but he didn't seem to care.

"Well next time I'll do better!"

Smoky had only met him once before, but the smile he gave to the Riverclan cat wasn't something he appeared to be capable of. He saw Smoky out of the corner of his eyes and got to his feet as quickly as he could. Nectarpaw turned to see what Twigpaw had reacted to.

"Oh, it's you again," Twigpaw said with that same feeling of distance he had in their last conversation.

"Yeah." Smoky couldn't think of anything better to say, especially when Nectarpaw was glaring him down with such suspicion. She shook off her damp fur with little care for how much water splattered onto the other two.

"What do you want?" She looked directly in his eyes as she spoke.

"...I'm here for you." He's been stunned by how harsh the tiny she-cat's voice was. The she-cat in his head scolded him for providing such a threatening response, but he had only said the first thing that came to his mind.

"For me? Why?" She stepped closer to him. Twigpaw had begun to clean himself, but his attention remained on the other cats.

Smoky relayed his mission to her for the third time that day and her expression relaxed as he did.

"I see. Well, I'll find Plumfur and tell him. I'm guessing we're going to meet at the Greatarch at sundown." She didn't even wait for confirmation before strutting off. It's not like she was _ wrong _, so he didn't bother to follow her. Whether her independence would prove to be a boon or a bane, Smoky didn't know.

"Hey, uh, Smoky," Twigpaw called to him. "If you see Dewstar can you maybe not tell her I was doing this?"

"But you were doing it in the middle of camp?" Smoky had already got the impression Dewstar was rather controlling over him, for whatever reason, but it didn't make any sense for him to do something she'd object to in the clan's camp during the day.

"Yeah but…I don't want her to think I was slacking off or anything, okay? Just promise me!"

The amount of desperation in his voice over something so innocent surprised Smoky. Not like he'd tell Dewstar in the first place.

"I promise," he nodded. Twigpaw breathed out a sigh of relief. The two stared at each other for a moment before the apprentice skit away.

"_ All together, you have five cats in your patrol, _ " the cat in his mind recounted. " _ I think that should be enough. _"

Smoky agreed. He wasn't exactly sure what Dewstar had meant when she said it shouldn't be difficult, but three seasoned warriors and two apprentices should be able to overcome whatever struggle awaited them. Perhaps not Mousepaw…although he hoped that mentor of hers was as much as Jumppaw said he was. He may not know many cats yet, but he trusted Heronsong and Buckstep's advice. The sun was approaching the horizon, and he could eat and sneak in a quick nap if he found Wolf and asked his father to wake him when the other warriors returned to their den at night. He'd fought his fair share of battles, but for the first time, he felt _ excited _. If he let his mind focus on it any longer, he'd become too riled up to rest. He ran to the fresh-kill pile while forcing himself to put aside his thoughts of furor and bloodshed in favor of sinking his teeth into a fat vole.

* * *

Wolf had sent him off with the usual platitudes which were the closest he could get to expressing his ardent concern for his kin, but— like Smoky—he was not the most articulate cat. Smoky thanked him and left, stretching the last of his nap from his body. He cantered to below the Greatarch, unsure of exactly where the hop in his step came from, but nevertheless continued with his enthusiasm. The two warriors and their apprentices sat below and he felt a tinge of guilt for apparently making them wait. The first to approach him was a large ginger tom whose presence was almost overwhelming. Even in the darkness, he seemed to glow with a brilliant radiance.

"So, you are the one leading our patrol tonight! I'm glad to make your acquaintance. My name is Goldenleap, an esteemed warrior of Shadowclan." He nodded respectfully. "You've already met Mousepaw, of course." She stood a few steps behind him, but she wasn't cowering like she had been when they’d first met. She greeted him so quietly he wouldn't have noticed if he hadn't seen her mouth move.

"I am Plumfur." The other tom was a slender purple cat with white paws who wasted no time in introducing himself. He roughly shoved past Goldenleap who responded with an annoyed _ "Hey!" _, but did nothing more but glare angrily.

"I am from Riverclan, and am a close ally of Buckstep. I do not know how long you intend to stay in Windclan, but if it is a permanent position, I'd recommend you remain cordial if you don't want to threaten the peace with Riverclan—ouch!" Nectarpaw bit his hind leg, and seemingly rather painfully as well. He shook out the targeted limb until it mostly subsided. "What was that for?"

"You're rambling on about stuff no one cares about. It's annoying." She whined. Smoky got the feeling that if it had been anyone else, they wouldn't have gotten off with only a resigned mutter like she did.

"I'm a rather skilled cat myself, but Nectarpaw is certainly nothing to scoff at," he gloated as if it were a proper apology to her. She sighed, not willing to admonish him any further.

Goldenleap stepped forward again. "If that's it, then I guess we have no reason to stand around any longer." He was obviously still miffed, but wanted to move past it quickly. "I expect you do not know where the Moonfalls are, so I can take us there—"

"_ Hold on! _"

A voice rang out, the source quickly being revealed as they ran closer. A smaller figure raced alongside them. As soon as they'd become close enough for the moonlight to reveal their details, Smoky immediately recognized the black tom with white paws and the orange she-cat with a bobbed tail.

"We're coming with you," Flintfang stated. There was no question in his voice, but Finchpaw looked at Smoky for confirmation.

"Who do you think you are, that you can just invite yourself over?" Plumfur immediately shoved his face in the Thunderclan cat's personal space, but he simply turned away and addressed Smoky instead.

“This is your first mission,” Flintfang started to explain, “and I want to see your skill myself. Tales of your skill are meaningless if you lack the ability to back it up.”

“He did not ask for your assistance. I know you lack even the smallest bit of respect for your fellow warriors, but now is not the time to bother us with your nonsense!” Plumfur bristled. His face was a breath’s length away from the other tom’s, lips pulled back and teeth bared.

Flintfang stood tall, completely unaffected by the Riverclan cat’s display. “What, are you going to bite my head off? If you want to fight, don’t think for a moment I won’t humor you.”

Goldenleap stared at Smoky not knowing if he should step in or let him handle it. Mousepaw hid underneath her mentor, eyes looking between the patrol’s leader and the arguing cats. Smoky wordlessly rammed his head against Plumfur’s chest, although the purple tom did not break eye contact even as his body was shoved farther away. He stepped back and addressed Plumfur.

“Step down, this is an order.”

“But—”

“This isn’t up for debate.”

“Like I’m going to let anyone else tell me what to do,” Flintfang growled. He took a step towards the two cats, intending to fight them both, but was interrupted by a pair of teeth clasping around his tail and yanking him back. He jerked his head back. “What—”

“Flintfang, stop! It’s not worth it,” Finchpaw cried.

His eyes turned back to the others and he growled, but did not incite them further.

Smoky called for their attention. ”I don’t mind if you join, but only if you cooperate. I won’t let you ruin this mission for us.” He was rather surprised with the confidence his voice contained, and felt pride swell in his chest.

_ “Don’t get ahead of yourself,” _ the she-cat’s voice warned. He nodded in response, although none of the other cats paid note.

Flintfang muttered in acknowledgement, although he and Plumfur continued to glare at each other. Goldenleap casually walked between them to obscure their sight.

"Now that it's been settled we can get back to the task at hand! As I'd said, I am more than happy to lead us to the Moonfalls. If you'd allow me…" he turned to Smoky.

"Thank you, Goldenleap," he meowed in response. The cat had a haughty air around him but he wasn't _ that _ bad, although Smoky realized it might very well be due to the fact Plumfur and Flintfang were insufferable to levels never before seen, and so anything less was congenial in comparison.

They exited the camp behind Goldenleap. He walked with the confidence that he knew the way like the back of his paw. He walked with his chin held high and announced any obstacles in their path as if he was leading a pack of kits. _ "Take care not to trip over that broken branch" _ , _ "The ground here is muddy, so don't slip" _ , _ "There's thorn bushes beside here!" _ It honestly annoyed Smoky even though it no doubt annoyed Plumfur and Flintfang more so, but none of them spoke in fear that it would incite another shouting match. Plumfur seemed to be faring better as Flintfang's fur visibly bristled. 

"Goldenleap, can you _ please _ shut up _ ? _" Nectarpaw finally had enough and spoke for the lot of them.

"Thank you," Flintfang thanked her with an amount of earnesty that made Smoky miss a step.

"Yes, thank you," Plumfur repeated.

"You should also shut up," Nectarpaw growled. Plumfur couldn't see it, but Flintfang smirked at that.

"Am…am I not being helpful?" Goldenleap stopped and looked back. His expression was so disheartened, Smoky almost felt bad for him. He truly had no knowledge of how grating his condescending guidance was.

"No, we can all handle ourselves. You don't need to teach us how to walk." Smoky answered.

"...My apologies."

The sound of their resumed walking was the only thing which could be heard after Goldenleap had ceased his prattling. Finchpaw soon filled the silence with chatting between her and the other apprentices, although it was mostly between her and Nectarpaw with Mousepaw only speaking when directly spoken to. Occasionally Flintfang had to tell her to be quiet when her voice raised from enthusiasm for whatever the topic at hand was, but he did little talking beyond that. Goldenleap and Plumfur started a conversation with Smoky, but it was more that he was a silent observer to the two cats attempting to outshine each other with stories about both their own and their clans' grandeur which were vaguely directed to him. Eventually they reached the entrance to the series of underground tunnels which would eventually lead them to the Moonfalls. It was a low rocky entrance embedded in a shallow cliff with dry plants surrounding it.

"Sounds travel easily inside, so stay silent unless you'd like to announce our arrival," Goldenleap advised, which was perhaps the only legitimate verbal information he'd provided thus far. They slipped inside taking heed of the cat's instructions, although their pawsteps started to echo as the dirt gave way to smooth stone. The tunnels forked at various intervals yet Goldenleap did not even slow down before passing through them.

Flintfang sped up until he was next to the Shadowclan cat. "You _ do _ know where we're going, right?" he quietly asked.

"Of course, I've been here plenty of times. Now, be quiet." He dismissed the black cat. Flintfang growled but allowed himself to fall back. "In fact, we're quite close…" he slowed down until they'd all stopped. He lifted his head and sniffed deeply. Smoky did as well, and immediately recognized the slovenly smell of rogues despite the distance between him and the source. He walked past Goldenleap and stalked in the direction of the closest cave. He nodded towards it to order the others to follow him. He carefully looked around and saw the wanted rogues curled asleep. Smoky counted five four cats, and he was glad for Flintfang's addition as it meant they were not outnumbered. The rogues been awakened by the echoing sound of footsteps and jerked to their paws as the clan cats entered the cavern. As soon as he’d seen the cat at the head of the pack, Smoky’s paws stilled.

_ “That tom,” _ the voice gasped. Those markings… it was the same cat Smoky had fought at the border!

“Hah,” the rogue smiled as he unsheathed his claws and slowly strode towards Smoky, “looks like I’ll finally get my revenge for you killing my friend. Too bad the rest of ya bastards aren’t here.”

Goldenleap stepped forward and quietly growled. Although her tail quivered, Mousepaw stood tall next to him. Flintfang and Finchpaw followed suit. Plumfur walked past Smoky to address the opposing cat himself.

“I wouldn’t speak so boldly if I were you. You’ve lost once already—we’re only here to finish off the rest of you,” the Riverclan tom taunted with an audible smirk.

The tom snarled. “Get ‘em!” he howled, and the rogues were upon them.

A grey cat lunged at Plumfur first, although the attack had been expected. Plumfur jumped out of the way and reared onto his hind paws to slam them down. His aim had been off, and the enemy shoved his forelegs away and jumped on top of him, managing to slash his stomach before being flipped off. They returned to their paws and Plumfur slid below and thrust them into the air with an impressive—and unnecessary—display of strength. A pained hiss escaped their mouth when they landed on their back. The Riverclan cat jumped with his paws extended and slashed across their face and tore their ears in the process.

“Is living in a cold cave worth facing off against Riverclan’s strongest warrior?” 

They growled, but the image of Plumfur's claws tipped with blood along with the warmth running down their ears killed the retort forming in their throat. With a quiet curse they scrambled to their paws and ran out the cave.

"Mouse-heart! Get back here!" The leader of them called out after his fleeing ally, but they were already too far away to hear over the yelling and hissing even if they had any intention of obeying. "Grrrgh…" He turned and flung himself into the fray.

Nectarpaw circled a meaty tabby who carefully watched her every step in preparation to counter the diminutive she-cat's attack. She made a show of putting all her weight onto her haunches in a seemingly inexperienced manner and launched herself upwards. They raised a large paw to swat her away, but she flew right over with an agility more akin to a falcon than a cat. Her forepaws dug into their shoulders so she could kick their muzzle. They spun and tried to fling her off, eliciting a yelp of surprise from her, but the white she-cat managed to hold on, although not without her hind legs sliding to a place where they could grab her ankle in their mouth and wrench her away. Their teeth bit down with no hesitation and she felt the blood begin to swell at her skin. She was quick enough to bite onto their whiskers as she was pulled past them, causing the rogue to reflexively slacken their jaw enough that her weight tore her free from their grasp. Her leg ached, but she had experienced far worse. Ignoring her injury, she braced herself to jump again, but Finchpaw lunged at the rogue while the both of them were focused on each other. Finchpaw sank her teeth into their shoulder.

"D-damn it, stop!" they wailed, but Finchpaw held on for a bit longer before suddenly flinging them away. The rogue looked around as if surprised by the outcome, but quickly took the opportunity to run away.

"I _ didn't _ need your help," Nectarpaw growled.

"It looked like you did!" Finchpaw motioned towards her leg, the white fur stained pink.

"It's nothing," Nectarpaw assured, but her voice wavered as the pain began to make itself known in full. She crouched and lifted her leg to lick away the blood.

"Well, if you say so…" Finchpaw wasn't sure about leaving Nectarpaw alone even though she knew the other apprentice was stronger than even many full-fledged warriors, but that wouldn't matter if she wasn't in a position to fight back. Finchpaw knew Nectarpaw would yell at her if she stayed any longer so she ran back to the fray, quickly looking back at the white cat to make sure she was still okay.

Smoky and Flintfang assaulted one of the other cats together yet their combined prowess wasn't enough to take the enemy down without struggle. Their fighting styles were somewhat at odds as Flintfang fought with fierce and desultory strikes while Smoky planned each blow, and the rogue would be forced into a different position before his attack could be executed. He would attack with the expectation that their attention to focused on the other warrior before Flintfang would abruptly cease his onslaught. It was frustrating and Smoky wished the Thunderclan cat would try to match his actions, but he could only ineffectively follow behind. Just as he'd jumped at the rogue Flintfang shoved them aside, causing Smoky to crash into him.

"What are you _ doing _?" Flintfang hissed. He wiggled and flopped around Smoky, the two pathetically writhing to get back up.

"I could ask you the same!" Smoky shot back with a huff.

_ "Hey!" _

The two of them were about to bicker some more, but Finchpaw's meow gripped their attention before they could. The rogue cursed and swat at her as she clung to their foreleg, scratching her cheek in the process.

"Finchpaw!" Flintfang yelled and launched himself forward. The cat shook their arm to fling her off, but she stubbornly held on. He rammed right into their flank, causing the larger cat to fall on top of him. Smoky watched it unfold as he thought he'd only get in their way. Finchpaw skid across the stone floor when she let go and allowed herself to be flung off. As soon as she stilled, she ran right back and ran her claws against their face over and over, screaming with each swipe. Flintfang pulled himself up and slashed the rogue's stomach, producing a grotesque amount of blood. The cat yowled; suddenly stood up and barreled away, a trail of blood following. Finchpaw had almost been toppled over as another beaten rogue ran past her, Plumfur smiling smugly. To her surprise, Nectarpaw was at his side, her white paws sticky with blood.

While the other cats fought, Goldenleap and Mousepaw had been in a drawn-out struggle with the leader of the group. After the first cat to flee, he'd been far too tangled up to notice the rest of his group run. He slammed Goldenleap chest onto the ground, and the Shadowclan cat gasped as the air was knocked out of his lungs. Mousepaw tried to use her small size to her advantage and jump onto the cat just as she’d been taught but he turned and slapped her away just in time, sending her tumbling across the ground. She froze; she could only stare at the rogue which dashed at her. A weight barreled into her side and she instinctively bit down on whatever she could reach while flailing her claws haphazardly.

"Hey!" The cat above her winced. She immediately stilled as she realized it was Goldenleap; he'd shoved her out of the enemy's way.

"I-I'm sorry!" she cried, but Goldenleap had already moved to address the opposing cat. She scrambled to her paws and bounded towards him. The two cats circle each other, growling and waiting to see who would strike first. Neither seemed to notice the apprentice watching them. Her dilated pupils followed the rogue's hind legs. If she timed it right, she could charge and pull his legs out so he'd fall close enough for her mentor to attack. She was terrified of messing up, but it was outweighed by how pathetic she felt after her romp with Goldenleap. She had to redeem herself and now was the chance to do so!

Mousepaw rushed at the enemy with aim for his ankle. Her eyes desperately wanted to squeeze shut and ignore the scene around her, but she forced them to remain open. She allowed them to finally close once she had the leg in between her teeth; it would prove to be a very poor choice, since she was thus unable to see him turn quickly enough to move his weight to his forepaws and spin around with Mousepaw dragging along until she was in between the two cats. Goldenleap lunged forward at the exact time to crash against his apprentice. The rogue kicked with his hindlegs and sent the two of them sliding apart across the stone ground.

“Goldenleap!” she cried as the opposing cat pounced on him. He rose to meet the rogue and they wrestled on their hindlegs, both snapping at the other while their forelimbs kept them just out of reach. Mousepaw had messed up twice at that point, but she wasn’t going to let that stop her now. She got a running start to leap onto the rogue’s shoulders. Both he and Goldenleap gasped at the startling attack. All three of them fell over in a mess of cries and fur. Mousepaw had been flung off and landed on her paws, the rogue lying on his back and stunned from the impact. Eyes closed, she lashed as hard as she could against whatever was closest, over and over again until she felt an uncomfortable warmth against her paws and smelled the tinging scent of blood. She opened her eyes, slowly at first, and then split them wide open when she saw the dead cat’s lacerated throat below her. She couldn't even scream, only stare, completely frozen. Goldenleap got to his paws and padded over, looking down as he heaved from being out of breath.

"That was the last one," Flintfang remarked before he walked over, Finchpaw a ways behind. The she-cat cocked her head and stared with a sort of morbid curiosity, taking in every detail of the corpse before her.

Plumfur nor Nectarpaw drew closer. "It seems that way," he agreed, trying his best to direct his eyes anywhere else. His apprentice peered at the body with an empty, distant face gaze.

"Good job," Smoky lauded, but his voice was devoid of any actual joy.

"I'll take care of this," Flintfang pointed to the dead cat with his tail. "Plumfur, come here and help me."

"What, why me?" the Riverclan cat cried with disdain.

"Why do you think?" Nectarpaw meowed. His ears twitched as he hadn't expected her to speak.

"It's just that it was Goldenleap's apprentice that killed them, so it makes sense he should be the one to carry the body."

"Seriously?! If you’re the strongest warrior in Riverclan, then you should be able to help them bury it!" Nectarpaw hissed at her mentor with a potent venom.

Smoky glared at him. "Plumfur," he commanded. The purple tom sighed before muttering something Smoky couldn't hear, but it evoked another hiss from Nectarpaw. Flintfang's tail lashed as he waited for the Riverclan cat to come over.

"We'll go on ahead," Smoky announced to the two of them, and they nodded in acknowledgement. Finchpaw ran towards her mentor instead.

"I wanna help too!" She looked up at Flintfang. The last thing he'd do was deny her something he had no reason to object to.

"Oh, in that case I can leave this to you," Plumfur purred, quickly turning to leave before they could yell at him.

"Get back here!" Flintfang yelled. Finchpaw leapt at Plumfur and shoved him to the ground.

"The three of you will do it," Smoky stated to ensure Plumfur knew he was not getting out of it. The dark-furred tom finally left with Nectarpaw, Goldenleap, and Mousepaw in tow.

They remained quiet on the way back. The sounds of the cats tasked with burying the body eventually faded behind and the only thing to be heard was the tapping of their feet against the ground. Eventually, though, the faint sound of running water could be heard and Smoky turned his ears to follow it. Nectarpaw noticed as well.

"That's probably the Moonfalls," she meowed and gained the attention of the other cats. After a moment, the silence was broken yet again.

"Can…we go see?" Mousepaw asked timidly, looking up at Goldenleap as if she was only asking him.

"I want to see it as well," Nectarpaw added. She looked up at Smoky.

Goldenleap turned to Smoky as well, and Mousepaw's eyes then followed suit. He verbally acceded, and the small she-cat let out a small noise halfway between a squeak and a purr. Her tail hung low behind her, an improvement from its previous position curled tightly between her legs. She still clung to Goldenleap's side and threatened to trip them both while they all followed the increasingly loud splashing.

The floor was slick with the water which slashed against the edge and sprinkled across the entire expanse of the cavern, wetting their paws as they footed inside. The ground was smooth and uneven from being eroded by the constant onslaught it was subjected to and caution was required lest they slip and fall. The waterfall crashed inside from an aperture in the ceiling. The stars and moon were reflected on the distorted surface of the pool. The light shined on the droplets dotting the floor, making the ground, water, and sky all blend together into a single field of stars.

"The medicine cats gather here each moon and drink from the Moonfalls to talk to Starclan," Nectarpaw meowed as she leaned over the water and put her nose a whisker's width away from the surface. "Do you think they'd get annoyed if we drank from it?"

"Well, I don't think we should try our luck," Goldenleap discouraged her. Nectarpaw scoffed but pulled back nevertheless.

Mousepaw ran to the center and cried as she almost slipped before swinging her tail to stabilize herself. She looked up at the sky with ears and whiskers pointed forward, gasping in awe. Goldenleap and Smoky walked over as well.

"My, that is quite the sight," Goldenleap exclaimed. Smoky had to agree; it was easily the most impressive sight he'd ever bore witness to, although after a moment of thought, he realized he'd never before cared about things such as beauty. It must be due to that she-cat's influence. She had been quiet for a while now, but she suddenly spoke as if summoned by his thoughts of her.

_ “I have just remembered something!” _ she exclaimed.

_ “What is it?” _

_ “My name! It’s Searing Sky!” _ He couldn’t see her while he was awake, but imagined her peering down while her tail wagged in excitement.

_ “Hmm…” _ He was glad she’d remembered something, but could not find any excitement in it himself. At the very least, he had something to call her now.

_ “Hmph, you could at least pretend to be excited,” _ she huffed. _ “I guess for you, the value is more in the fact this proves I will recall more things.” _

_ “Oh, and figure out why you’re in my head.” _ His tail swayed a bit at the thought.

_ “Yes, exactly! You’re still a bit slow, but at least you're thinking a bit more than you used to,” _ she purred. He wasn’t sure if it was a compliment or insult, and didn't want to ask.

Smoky spoke out loud, addressing the rest of his group. "We should get back soon. Flintfang and Plumfur won't be happy if they find out we got distracted and wandered off."

"Yeah…" Mousepaw agreed with disappointment. "But it's not like we can't ever come back here, right?" She looked at Smoky and Goldenleap.

"I'm sure another excuse to come here will present itself sooner or later," Goldenleap assured her.

Nectarpaw yawned loudly and arched her back. "Am I the only one that's tired?" Mousepaw yawned as well, and it then spread to the two toms.

Goldenleap stretched his forelegs outwards. "Guess this is a sign we really ought to leave. Let's go." He got back to his paws and motioned for the rest to follow.

Smoky looked back once more, gazing upon the warped night sky undulating in the untamed waters. With a final glance, he turned and walked away.

* * *

A sole cat stood in the cavern of the Moonfalls. The light from the small opening was enough to see their paws before them, but little else. The moonshine had no desire to expose them, instead clinging to the running water as a vicar of the stars hiding above. The cat padded to the water’s edge and their amplified breaths were still drowned out by the gentle splashing water. Crouched down, they lapped at the water, disclosing their plea to the cats long gone.

_ Starclan, I know you have no power over this, but I have no one else to ask. _

_ Please let me see them again. I know I have angered you with my cowardice, but I have sworn every night that I will make it right. I know you have never spoken to me before and I wonder if you ever will, but I wish that you would take pity and guide me to them again _

They lapped at the cold water again, yet still was denied salvation. They saw no glimmering fields, only the back of their eyelids no matter how long they waited. Finally opening their eyes, they dragged their gaze over each star reflected in the rippling water, every one an ancestor who refused to speak.

With a shaking voice, they spoke out loud, something between a threat and a promise. “I will atone for my cowardice. All I’ve failed to do is unforgivable, but I will absolve myself, I swear it.”

Those quiet words, spoken to Starclan time and time again, echoed uselessly in the dark cavern.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I was hoping I'd be able to finish this and also the next chapter over break but NOPE. Might just quit my job and drop out to write fanfiction full time


End file.
